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Evenn*el ical  Lutheran 
nisterium  of  Pennsylvania 
and  adjacent  states 


£ 

Addresses  at  the 
175th  Anniversary  of  the ^ 
Sy^. t •  s t erirun  of  Pennsylvania. 


h.  is.i4  n 

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ADDRESSES 

AT 

irsth  Amttufraarg 

OF  THE 

HUmtatariam  of  IJemtBghrattra 


READING,  PENNSYLVANIA 
JUNE  5,  1923 


TRINITY  CHURCH 
READING,  PA. 

The  Rev.  E.  P.  Pfatteicher,  Ph.  D.,  D.  D.,  Pastor 


Officers,  Boards,  Committees,  Delegates 


295 


Appendix  I 

DR.  REED’S  REMARKS  AT  THE  PRESENTATION  OF 
THE  PASTORS  AND  DELEGATES  OF  THE  ORIGI¬ 
NAL  CONGREGATIONS 

O'ne  hundred  and  seventy-five  years  ago,  in  the  days  of  King 
George  III.,  seven  Lutheran  ministers,  and  laymen  representing 
eleven  Lutheran  congregations  in  the  colony  of  Pennsylvania,  as¬ 
sembled  in  Philadelphia.  Both  the  Swedish  and  the  German  con¬ 
gregations  were  represented,  as  were  the  congregations  in  nearby 
Germantown  and  the  Trappe.  Other  delegates  came  by  tiresome 
horse  back  journeys  from  the  more  distant  Lancaster  and  New  Holl¬ 
and,  and  even  from  Tulpehocken,  at  that  time  still  an  Indian  terri¬ 
tory  rather  than  a  white  man’s  country.  The  rough  forest  road  on 
which  the  delegates  from  Bernville  and  Stouchsburg  travelled,  prob¬ 
ably  led  them  through  this  very  place,  and  if  so,  they  saw,  in  that 
summer  of  1748.  the  surveyors  of  Richard  and  Thomas  Penn  mark¬ 
ing  out  the  first  streets  in  this  hospitable  city  of  Reading. 

These  ministers  and  laymen  participated  in  the  Service  of  Dedi¬ 
cation  of  St.  Michael’s  Church,  and  the  service  of  Ordination  of 
John  Nicholas  Kurtz  to  the  holy  ministry.  The  particular  pur¬ 
pose  of  their  assembling  was  realized  the  following  day  when  they 
organized  the  “College  of  Pastors  of  the  L'nited  Congregations”, 
which  eventually  developed  into  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Adjacent  States.  To-day,  as  we  look  back  upon  this  first  meet¬ 
ing  of  the  first  Lutheran  Synod  in  America,  we  regard  it  as  one 
of  the  most  important  events  in  the  history  of  the  Lutheran  Church 
in  this  country. 

Of  the  eleven  congregations  represented  at  that  meeting,  ten 
are  still  in  active  connection  with  the  Ministerium.  It  has  seemed 
fitting,  Mr.  President,  that  the  very  first  feature  of  this  anniversary 
celebration  should  be  the  assembling  of  the  pastors  and  lay  dele¬ 
gates  of  these  congregations,  in  order  that  they  might  be  formally 
recognized  by  you,  sir,  the  President  of  the  Ministerium,  which 
sees  in  them  not  only  the  living  representatives  of  these  historic  con¬ 
gregations,  but  the  successors  in  office  of  those  godly  men  who  in 
the  name  of  God  founded  this  Ministerium  175  years  ago. 

ADDRESS  OF  THE  HON.  J.  KEIM  STAUFFER,  MAYOR 

OF  READING 

“The  mayor  acknowledges  the  high  honor  of  extending  official 
greetings  to  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania 
and  adjacent  states,  and  senses  the  deep  responsibility  of  addressing 
the  pastors  and  lay  delegates  who  have  assembled  to  celebrate  its 
having  been  organized  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  before  the 


296 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 


Declaration  of  Independence  was  signed.  Only  the  happy  coin¬ 
cidence  that  the  city  of  Reading  is  also  marking  its  1 75th  annivers¬ 
ary  this  year  permks  me  to  discard  the  customary  timidity  of  a 
layman  in  the  presence  of  the  clergy,  and  boldly  greet  you  in  the 
synonomus  terms  of  patriotism  and  good  citizenship. 

“Appreciation,  like  charity,  should  begin  at  home.  An  untiring 
industrial  city  like  Reading,  with  its  large  material  resources  and 
productive  man-power,  is  this  year  proclaiming  its  impressive  ac- 
creation  of  worldly  wealth  in  its  century  and  three-quarters  of  or¬ 
ganized  effort.  It  must  he  a  source  of  pride  to  its  entire  citizenship 
to  realize  that  you,  to  whom  I  bring  their  greetings,  have  journeyed 
here  as  the  most  fitting  place  in  this  and  adjacent  states  to  observe 
your  spiritual  anniversary  of  equal  antiquity. 

“There  is  an  old  saying:  ‘Every  man  to  his  trade,’  and,  no 
doubt,  it  is  truer  than  ever  in  these  days  of  specialization  in  industry. 
But  assemblages  such  as  this  one  can  hardly  reach  their  true  fulfill¬ 
ment  if  they  fail  to  convince  the  layman  of  the  needs  of  religion  in 
everyday  business,  and  reveal  the  pastor  as  the  typical  every  day 
citizen  of  the  community. 

“The  patriotism  and  good  citizenship  that  were  synonomous  with 
religion  in  the  career  of  Peter  Gabriel  Muhlenberg  are  a  living 
lesson  to  the  world  today,  and  not  alone  to  the  church  that  was  his 
and  is  yours.  To  look  upon  his  statue  in  the  Capitol  at  Washing¬ 
ton,  or  on  city  hall  plaza,  in  Philadelphia,  is  to  wonder  whether  he 
served  more  gloriously  as  pastor,  soldier  or  statesman,  but  there 
can  be  no  question  of  the  usefulness  of  his  life  in  each  capacity. 

“When  Theodore  Roosevelt,  in  his  last  years  exclaimed:  ‘Amer¬ 
ica  must  find  its  soul,’  he  sent  vibrating  a  challenge  to  individual 
citizenship  to  measure  up  to  the  needs  of  patriotism.  \our  meet¬ 
ing  in  Reading  to  commemorate  your  1 7 5th  anniversary  of  a  church 
life  so  identified  with  the  nation’s  life,  is  an  event  of  wide  com¬ 
munity  interest  as  well  as  religious  importance.  In  behalf  of  the 
citizens  of  Reading,  therefore,  the  mayor  extends  to  you  sincere 
greetings  and  felicitations  and  anticipates  many  good  results  will 
ensue  from  your  sessions.” 


A  ppendix 


297 


Appendix  II 

GREETINGS  BY  OFFICIAL  DELEGATES  FROM  OTHER 
SYNODS  AND  GENERAL  BODIES. 

INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS 

By  the  Rev.  Prof.  Luther  I).  Reed,  D.  D.,  Chairman  of  the  Min- 
isterium’s  Anniversary  Committee,  in  Presenting  the  Delegates. 

As  the  Ministerium  looks  back  over  the  past  century  and  three 
quarters  it  may  well  call  to  mind  the  words  of  Jacob:  “I  am  not 
worthy  of  the  least  of  all  the  mercies  and  of  all  the  truth  which 
Thou  hast  showed  unto  Thy  servant;  for  with  my  staff  I  passed 
over  this  Jordan ;  and  now  I  am  become  two  bands.” 

Philadelphia  at  the  time  of  the  first  meeting  of  the  Ministerium 
was  a  place  about  the  size  of  Pottsville  to-day.  The  entire  popu¬ 
lation  of  Pennsylvania  then  equalled  the  present  population  of  Berks 
and  Lebanon  Counties.  But  in  spite  of  the  sparsely  settled  con¬ 
dition  of  the  country  there  were  fully  seventy-five  Lutheran  con¬ 
gregations  in  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Maryland  and 
Delaware.  The  most  of  these  later  came  under  the  care  of  the 
Ministerium.  Others  were  also  established  by  the  Ministerium, 
whose  activities  soon  spread  to  neighboring  and  distant  colonies. 
M  issionaries  were  sent  into  the  West  and  the  Southwest;  mission¬ 
ary  conferences  were  organized ;  and  these  eventually  developed  into 
Synods.  Groups  of  congregations,  more  or  less  remote,  eventually 
withdrew  to  form  new  synods  on  their  own  territory.  And  now, 
on  this  day  of  celebration,  these  daughter-and  grand-daughter- 
synods  have  returned,  in  the  persons  of  their  accredited  representa¬ 
tives,  to  rejoice  with  the  Mother  Synod  and  to  do  her  honor. 

The  greetings  of  these  synods  will  be  presented  this  afternoon, 
but  I  have  the  honor  of  presenting  to  you  now  the  distinguished  rep¬ 
resentatives  of  fifteen  synods  and  general  bodies,  in  order  that  they 
may  be  received  and  welcomed  by  you,  the  President  of  the  Min¬ 
isterium  whose  guests  they  are. 

THE  MINISTERIUM  OF  NEW  YORK,  1786. 

By  the  Rev.  E.  C.  J.  Kraeling,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

It  is  indeed  a  great  privilege  that  has  been  accorded  me  as  the 
representative  of  the  Ministerium  of  New  York,  to  convey  to  you 
the  heartiest  congratulations  and  felicitations  of  my  Synod  on  the 
occasion  of  your  175th  anniversary.  Still  under  the  spell  of  the 
inspiring  service  held  last  night  in  this  beautiful  and  historic  sanctu¬ 
ary,  I  feel  that  in  striking  the  first  chord  this  afternoon,  I  must 


298 


Trinity ,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 


re-echo  yesterday’s  strain  of  prayer  and  praise,  and  thank  God  for 
the  mercies  He  has  shown  unto  you  and  through  you  in  this  your 
long  history.  Richly  has  His  providence  measured  out  to  you  both 
opportunity  and  strength.  When  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg  from 
the  deck  of  the  sloop  that  brought  him  from  Charleston  first  saw  the 
shores  of  Pennsylvania  with  their  wooded  hills,  their  fields  and 
pastures,  it  was  as  though  God  in  heaven  had  said  unto  him,  as 
He  said  to  the  patriarch  of  old:  1  his  is  the  land  I  have  sworn  to 
give  to  thy  children  according  to  the  spirit  forever.  And  I  will 
bless  thee  and  make  thy  name  great,  and  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing.” 
^  our  Ministerium  is  the  great  living  monument,  that  shows  us  how 
God  fulfills  His  promises.  The  Ministerium  of  New  York,  the 
second  oldest  Lutheran  body  in  the  land,  has  been  your  neighbor  for 
140  years.  We  rejoice  that  both  Synods  have  been  unfailing  in  their 
loyalty  to  the  confessions  and  the  spirit  of  the  Lutheran  Church, 
and  that  they  have  always  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder,  held  together 
by  the  strongest  of  all  ties,  namely  a  common  faith,  sincere  brotherly 
love  and  true  Christian  forbearance,  “one  Lord,  one  faith,  one 
baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  above  all  anil  through 
all  and  in  all.” 


1  hat  we  each  have  our  own  distinct  individuality  is  undeniable, 
and  results  from  the  vicissitudes  of  our  history.  Had  those  Pala¬ 
tines  who  settled  in  the  Mohawk  valley  not  been  forced  by  British 
ill-treatment  to  migrate  into  Pennsylvania,  and  had  not  thousands 
of  others  perished  during  the  terrible  border  warfare  in  the  dark 
and  bloody  ground  of  the  Iroquois  country,  our  relative  strength 
might  have  been  measured  differently.  Martyrdom  for  their  new 
fatherland  was  the  lot  of  the  Palatines  of  New  York,  and  the  few 
who  survived  and  remained  became  an  easy  prey  to  un-lutheran 
doctrine  and  broke  away  from  our  Ministerium.  In  your  more 
tranquil  land  the  Palatines  have  become  the  backbone  of  this  synod 
and  of  its  conservatism,  while  in  New  York  the  influx  of  a  new  and 
different  migration  has  vitally  affected  the  life  of  our  Ministerium. 
It  is  not  strange  then  that  we  are  different  in  many  respects,  but 
still  we  are  sisters.  And  as  Mary  dwelt  in  the  house  of  Martha, 
sharing  her  table,  so  have  we  sat  at  your  board  and  partaken  of  your 
blessings.  Especially  have  we  been  privileged  to  send  our  youth  to 
your  Seminary,  which  we  regard  also  as  our  Seminary,  and  in  grow¬ 
ing  numbers  the  alumni  of  Mt.  Airy  are  entering  our  ranks.  Our 
industrious  sister  Martha  has  been  more  active  and  progressive  than 
we,  because  richer  and  less  handicapped,  but  we  both  love  the  same 
master  and  try  to  serve  Him  each  in  our  own  way.  We  like  to 
think  of  historv  as  made  by  personalities,  even  as  the  author  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  does  when  he  cites  the  heroes  of  the  faith. 
Out  of  our  synodical  histories  new  names  must  be  added  to  that 
galaxy  of  immortals,  whose  fame  the  Church  reveres.  After  the 
patriarch  Muhlenberg  came  Justus  Falckner,  Kocherthal  and  Berke- 
Synod  was  organized,  in  later  years,  the  Tennessee  Synod,  the  South 


Appendix 


299 


merer,  Kunze  and  Krauth,  Schaefer  and  Schmucker,  Mann  and 
Seiss,  Spaeth,  Krotel  and  Schmauk,  not  to  mention  any  of  those  who 
are  still  amongst  us  and  whom  we  honor  and  esteem.  From  their 
lives,  their  work,  their  zeal  we  draw  our  inspiration,  and  to  the 
cause  for  which  they  labored  and  prayed,  we  consecrate  ourselves 
anew  on  this  anniversary  day. 

THE  SYNOD  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA,  1803. 

By  the  Rev.  J.  L.  Alorgan,  D.  D.,  Salisbury  ,N  .C. 

As  the  delegated  representative  of  the  Lfnited  Lutheran  Synod 
of  North  Carolina,  I  bring  you  most  hearty  greetings  on  this 
memorable  occasion.  A  ou  have  a  long  and  glorious  history,  and  we 
congratulate  you  upon  the  record  you  have  made  through  all  these 
years,  and  upon  the  strength  and  vision  with  which  you  arrive  at  this 
your  175th  birthday.  Today  you  stand  first  not  only  in  order  of 
time  of  all  the  Lutheran  bodies  of  this  country,  but  first  in  numbers 
also  of  the  constituent  synods  of  the  LTnited  Lutheran  Church. 
Following  the  leadership  of  that  great  patriarch  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  in  America,  the  Rev.  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg,  you 
gave  to  the  Lutheran  Church  in  this  country  organization  and  a 
definite  Lutheran  consciousness.  These  fundamental  contributions 
have  had  a  wholesome  influence  not  only  among  your  own  con¬ 
gregations,  but  also  over  all  the  organized  bodies  which  came  after 
you,  and  for  which  all  owe  you  lasting  gratitude.  Having  laid  for 
yourselves  a  secure  foundation,  God  has  wonderfully  blessed  you  in 
the  building  of  a  mighty  church  thereon.  \  our  strength,  your  ac¬ 
tivities,  and  your  influence  today  are  potent  factors  in  estimating  the 
future  possibilities  of  the  Lutheran  Church  in  America. 

In  tracing  the  history*  of  the  Synod  which  I  have  the  honor  to 
represent,  we  find  a  number  of  points  which  we  believe  will  be  of 
interest  to  you,  as  well  as  theyr  are  to  us.  We  will  not  embarrass 
you,  however,  by'  anyr  effort  to  claim  ourselves  as  your  daughter, 
for  this  we  would  hardly  be  able  to  substantiate,  because  our  Synod 
was  composed  originally  of  congregations  in  our  state  which  up  to 
that  time  had  never  been  connected  with  any  organized  body.  And 
yet,  we  do  cherish  a  feeling  of  kinship  with  you,  forasmuch  as  the 
members  who  composed  our  original  congregations  came  almost  ex¬ 
clusively  from  your  state.  Just  when  our  first  congregations  were 
organized,  our  records  do  not  show,  but  it  must  have  been  not  far 
from  the  year  1750.  Our  first  pastor,  the  Rev.  Adolphus  Nuss- 
mann,  came  to  us  directly  from  Germany  however,  in  the  year  1773. 
He  was  secured  by  a  personal  committee  which  the  congregations 
sent  over  there  to  call  for  them  a  pastor.  The  North  Carolina 
Synod  was  organized  in  1803,  and  holds  the  distinction  of  being  the 
third  oldest  Lutheran  Synod  in  this  country.  From  North  Carolina 
Carolina  Synod,  and  the  Southwestern  Virginia  Synod.  However, 


300 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 

the  North  Carolina  and  I  ennessee  Synods  were  in  1921  merged 
into  one  body,  so  that  we  now  have  the  United  Synod  of  North 
Carolina.  It  is  gratifying  to  note  here  also  that  during  these  years 
a  spirit  of  cordiality  between  your  body  and  ours  has  all  along  been 
manifested,  as  may  be  seen  from  various  points  of  view.  On  diff¬ 
erent  occasions  we  have  exchanged  pastors  with  you;  many  of  our 
most  useful  ministers  have  been  trained  in  your  Seminary;  we  read 
with  edifying  interest  each  other  s  books;  we  stand  on  the  same  con¬ 
fessional  basis;  and  today,  thanks  be  to  God,  we  co-operate  with  you, 
as  well  as  with  thirty-four  other  Synods,  in  carrying  out  the  prin¬ 
ciples,  the  practices,  and  the  programs  of  one  United  Lutheran 
Church  in  America. 

THE  JOINT  SYNOD  OF  OHIO,  1818. 

By  President  C.  II.  L.  Schuette,  D  .D.,  Columbus ,  Ohio. 

If  in  these  your  festive  days  you  will  turn  to  some  pages  in 
the  early  chronicles  of  our  beloved  Church,  you  shall  find  that  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  1816  fifteen  pasors  of  our  faith,  then  doing 
pioneer  work  west  of  the  Allegheny  Range,  and  representing  a 
Special  Conference  of  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania,  requested 
the  latter  body  for  permission  to  constitute  themselves  an  independent 
synodical  body.  1  his  petition  duly  presented  and  kindly  granted, 
the  Conference,  meeting  at  Somerset,  Ohio,  in  September,  1818, 
then  and  there  transformed  itself,  without  change  of  its  doctrinal 
basis,  principles  or  polity,  into  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Synod  of 
Ohio  and  Adjacent  States — now  of  Other  States,  and  a  body  measur¬ 
ing  up  fairly  well  to  the  stature  of  its  worthy  progenitor.  Re¬ 
minded  of  this,  his  own  Synod’s  origin,  the  writer  of  these  lines  re¬ 
calls  the  days,  when,  in  consonance  with  this  and  other  disbranch- 
ments  to  its  credit,  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania  was  generally 
known  as  the  Mother  Synod,  and  was  thus  lovingly  referred  to 
among  us.  This,  her  distinction  of  being  the  parent  of  other  bodies 
after  her  own  similitude,  I  esteem  to  be  an  honor,  which  you,  the 
immediate  members  of  her  household,  have  every  reason  to  be  proud 
of;  and  whilst  I  congratulate  the  venerable  Mater  upon  this  the 
175th  anniversary  of  her  birth,  it  pleases  me  to  call  your  attention  to 
this  her  invaluable  service  to  the  Church  of  our  faith  and  love. 
However,  this  is  a  glimpse  into  but  the  first  chapter  of  our  common 
history.  Turning  to  pages  farther  on,  a  tale  of  happenings  not  at 
all  of  the  same  unalloyed  joy  is  told  us — of  sayings  and  doings,  some 
dear  people,  forgetting  that  in  this  poor  earth  of  ours  truth  and  peace 
are  by  way  of  the  sword  and  cross,  look  back  upon  as  anything  but 
praiseworthy.  But  deplore  it  who  will,  the  fact  stands  out,  that  our 
sainted  fathers  did  pass  through  periods  marked  by  “misunderstand¬ 
ings,”  let  us  say,  the  which  led  to  some  unhappy  scraps  and  scrim¬ 
mages  between  tbe  two  bodies.  And  if  so,  what  of  it?  Whereas 
error  will  obtrude  itself  despite  anything  men  may  be  or  do,  and 


A  ppendix 


301 

even  when  at  their  best,  1  for  one  would  seriously  question  the  char¬ 
acter  of  our  sires  as  men  devoted  to  the  truth,  had  they  not  felt 
themselves  called  upon  at  times  to  adjust  differences  of  some  sort 
more  or  less  grave  and  a  peril  to  the  Faith.  But  no,  and  passing 
strange  were  it,  did  we  find  them  to  have  escaped  life’s  struggles. 
Living,  as  we  do,  in  a  land  of  free  thought  and  speech,  and  where, 
too,  individualism,  whether  wise  and  good  or  wayward  and  wicked, 
the  freest  scope  of  expression  is  accorded,  it  will  come  to  pass,  and 
hut  too  often,  that,  among  other  undesirable  things,  parents  and 
their  children  are  not  always  of  the  same  mind;  and  this  is  true  in 
affairs  spiritual  no  less  than  in  affairs  secular.  Besides,  and  as  per¬ 
tinent  to  our  own  synodical  relationship,  why  not,  at  least  as  be¬ 
tween  ourselves,  confess  it,  that  like  unto  the  sons  of  Erin,  we,  the 
sons  of  Saxony  are,  by  temperament  and  training,  just  a  trifle  too 
fond  of  a  fight?  However,  and  be  that  as  it  may,  when  speaking  of 
the  controversies  between  the  synods  of  our  love,  it  behooves  us  to 
put  the  best  construction  upon  them ;  that  is  to  say,  that  they  were 
on  points  worth  while,  and  that  the  men  engaged  in  them  were 
animated  by  a  holy  affection  toward  the  truth  and  the  souls  to  be 
saved.  And  moreover,  whatever  the  nature,  purpose  and  range  of 
their  encounters,  supervened  by  influences  divine  and  benign,  they 
certainly  were  not  without  profit;  yes,  and  we  at  this  day  enjoy 
the  inestimable  fruit  of  their  contentions.  Therefore,  when  recalling 
them,  let  us  do  so  thankfully,  and  set  them  down  to  our  fathers’ 
credit  and  praise.  In  short,  agree  or  disagree  with  me  who  will,  I 
am  proud  of  our  common  history,  its  martial  blemishes,  if  blemishes 
they  be,  included;  and  thus  minded,  brethren,  I  beg  you  not  to 
look  upon  this  preachment  with  which  I  have  wearied  you,  as  being 
in  any  sense  an  apology  for  any  past  grievances,  real  or  imaginary. 
And  now,  by  way  of  conclusion,  let  me  say:  had  we  of  the  Joint 
Synod  of  Ohio,  assembled  in  August  last,  been  aware  of  the  festival 
vou  brethren  are  now  celebrating,  I  have  no  doubt  but  what  some 
word  or  act  of  felicitation  would  have  been  passed  upon  for  pre¬ 
sentation  at  this,  your  convention ;  as  it  is,  I  beg  you  to  accept  my 
personal  congratulations,  I  extend  them  with  the  prayer,  that  “Christ 
Jesus,  who  of  God  is  made  unto  us  wisdom,  and  righteousness,  and 
sanctification,  and  redemption,”  may  be  with  us  all,  and  bless  the 
work  He  has  placed  into  our  hands  to  His  own  great  glory. 

THE  SYNOD  OF  MARYLAND,  1820. 

By  the  Rev.  E.  K.  Bell,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Baltimore ,  Md. 

Beginning  with  little  groups  of  people  whose  roots  were  pulled 
up  in  Lutheran  lands  beyond  the  sea,  the  Ministerium  assumed  the 
stupendous  task  of  preparing  the  soil  and  directing  the  growth  of 
the  Church  in  a  land  unfriendly  to  their  religious  aspirations.  To 
blaze  the  way  through  the  wilderness,  to  lay  foundations  where  none 
had  been  laid  before,  to  teach  and  train  for  the  making  of  a  great 


302 


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church  in  this  western  world  was  an  achievement  for  devout  ap¬ 
preciation  and  gratitude  to  God.  In  the  task  of  planting  the  Lu¬ 
theran  Church  in  our  country  the  Ministerium  and  Maryland  have 
had  much  in  common  It  is  not  without  interest  and  significance 
that  the  founder  of  the  Ministerium  visited  the  churches  in  the 
heart  of  what  was  to  be  the  Maryland  Synod  two  years  before  he 
presided  at  the  organization  of  the  Ministerium.  During  that  visit 
he  wrote  with  his  own  hand  the  constitutions  of  congregations  along 
the  Monocacy  in  Frederick  and  in  the  Middletown  Valley,  and  thus 
the  same  guiding  hand  at  the  organization  of  the  Ministerium 
directed  the  organization  of  the  churches  that  were  to  form  the 
Maryland  Synod.  The  Maryland  Synod  and  the  General 
Synod  were  organized  during  the  same  year  1820.  At  the  or¬ 
ganization  of  the  General  Synod,  eight  of  the  fifteen  delegates 
were  members  of  the  Ministerium.  The  constitution  unani¬ 
mously  adopted  was  essentially  identical  with  the  plan  that  had 
been  proposed  by  the  Pennsylvania  Synod.  It  is  a  matter  of  pathetic 
interest  that  the  leaders  in  the  Ministerium,  who  really  founded  the 
General  Synod,  were  forced  to  withdraw  two  years  later,  by  the 
congregations,  who  conceived  the  idea  which  was  spread  among 
them,  that  such  an  organization  might  become  an  instrument  of 
ecclesiastical  tyranny.  There  had  been  no  doctrinal  divergencies  nor 
had  any  misunderstandings  arisen  among  the  leaders.  The  recession 
was  looked  upon  as  temporary,  expressions  of  the  most  cordial  good 
feeling  and  confidence  were  exchanged,  and  the  hope  indulged  and 
expressed  on  both  sides  that  the  enforced  separation,  over  which  both 
grieved  would  come  to  an  early  and  happy  end.  The  fellowship  be¬ 
tween  the  leaders  in  the  Ministerium  and  the  Maryland  Synod  was 
characteristic.  The  famous  Free  Conferences,  which  did  so  much 
to  prepare  the  way  for  the  Merger,  were  inspired  and  promoted, 
and  in  large  part  conducted,  by  leading  men  in  these  two  bodies. 
Among  the  distinguished  men  Maryland  gave  to  the  Ministerium 
were  Charles  Phillip  Krauth,  Charles  Porterfield  Krauth,  Joseph  A. 
Seiss,  William  A.  Passavant,  Benjamin  Sadtler,  Malcolm  Horine 
and  Henry  Eyster  Jacobs.  The  sweet  fellowship  of  leaders  in  the 
two  bodies  during  the  past  century  has  ripened  during  these  later 
years  into  a  union  at  once  beneficent  and  we  trust  indissoluble.  God 
grant,  that  the  Mother  Synod  may  so  continue  to  labor  with  the 
hosts  of  the  United  Lutheran  Church,  that  beneficence  may  in¬ 
crease  manv-fold,  that  piety  may  be  magnified  in  all  of  the  churches, 
that  the  Gospel  may  be  nreached  in  its  purity,  to  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  extension  of  His  kingdom  throughout  the  world. 

THE  SYNOD  OF  WEST  PENNSYLVANIA,  1825. 

By  the  Rev.  Clarence  E.  Arnold,  York,  Pa. 

The  Synod  of  West  Pennsylvania  was  identified  from  the  very 
becinning  with  the  Ministerium  through  Christ  Church  of  York, 


A  ppendix 


303 


which  was  represented  at  the  organization  meeting  in  1748  by  letter, 
and  was  active  in  subsequent  meetings.  One  hundred  years  ago  we 
were  still  in  the  mother's  house;  however,  longings  had  arisen  in 
the  conference  west  of  the  Susquehanna  River  for  the  formation  of 
a  new  Synod.  Action  was  no  doubt  hastened  by  the  withdrawal  of 
the  Ministerium  from  the  General  Synod  of  its  own  creation,  which 
Synod  in  spite  of  its  faults,  saved  the  Lutheran  Church  in  America 
from  amalgamation  with  Reformed  elements.  The  prejudices  in  the 
Ministerium  against  a  general  body  of  Lutherans,  largely  accentu¬ 
ated  by  Reformed  influences,  did  not  exist  west  of  the  Susquehanna. 
Therefore  at  a  special  meeting  of  the  Conference,  held  at  Green- 
castle  on  November  8,  1824,  it  was  decided  to  petition  the  Min¬ 
isterium  at  its  next  meeting,  to  recognize  the  Conference  as  an  in¬ 
dependent  Synod.  The  formal  organization  occurred  on  September 
5,  1825  at  Chambersburg.  God  dealt  kindly  with  the  new  Synod. 
So  great  was  the  success,  that  in  the  course  of  years  the  great  terri¬ 
tory  of  the  Synod  of  West  Pennsylvania,  stretching  west  from  the 
Susquehanna  through  Pennsylvania  to  the  Ohio  River,  witnessed 
the  formation  of  three  additional  synods.  The  work  we  have  been 
privileged  to  do  under  God,  and  the  results  attained,  we  believe  to 
be  a  larger  tribute  to  you  than  any  fullsome  words  of  praise  we  could 
bring;  for  we  received  our  early  training  in  your  household  of  faith. 
To  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania  the  Lutheran  Church  in  Amer¬ 
ica  owes  a  great  debt.  May  God  give  you,  good  old  mother  of 
ours,  as  the  years  grow,  a  greater  growth  in  membership,  a  greater 
zeal  in  your  testimony  for  Christ,  a  larger  accomplishment  of  good, 
a  greater  deepening  in  the  spiritual  life  of  your  many  congregations, 
and  a  larger  influence  in  the  territory  of  the  Old  Mother  Synod. 

THE  SYNOD  OF  VIRGINIA,  1829. 

By  the  Rev.  C.  TV.  Cassel,  Luray ,  Virginia. 

Our  coming  together  today  is  not  alone  an  occasion  of  congratu¬ 
lation  and  exchange  of  good  wishes.  It  is  this,  and  more.  For  a 
Synod  to  have  made  one  and  three  quarter  centuries  of  honorable 
History,  for  her  to  grow  in  strength  with  years,  for  her  to  call  her 
children  together,  that  she  might  with  them  mark  another  step  of 
progress,  is  an  occasion  that  should  cause  all  who  truly  love  the 
Kingdom  to  "thank  God  and  take  courage.”  As  I  look  into  your 
faces  and  note  the  deep  interest  on  the  part  of  everyone,  as  I  think 
of  the  hundreds  of  pastors  and  laymen  here  representing  your  con¬ 
gregations,  as  I  meet  and  greet  the  representatives  of  other  synods 
and  general  bodies,  all  gathered  here  in  this  historic  temple  of  the 
fathers,  it  is  not  improper  to  address  our  ecclesiastical  mother  in  the 
words  of  the  prophet  of  old :  “Lift  up  your  eyes  round  about  and 
see;  all  these  gather  themselves  together,  thy  sons  have  come  from 
far,  and  thy  daughters  have  been  nursed  at  thy  side.”  I  am  glad 


304 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 

this  Mother  Synod  has  a  child  in  the  JVlother  State  to  bring  you 
greetings  on  this  happy  occasion.  I  am  sure  no  one  of  the  many 
synods  represented  here  rejoices  with  you  more  sincerely  than  does 
this  one  of  the  near  South.  It  would  be  ungrateful  not  to  mention, 
that  the  early  congregations  in  V  lrginia  belonged  to  the  Ministerium, 
that  they  looked  to  her  for  moral  support  and  for  pastors.  Nor  are 
we  unmindful  of  those  pioneer  pastors  and  missionaries,  members  of 
the  Ministerium,  who  amid  the  privations  and  hardships  of  frontier 
life,  followed  the  people  to  their  distant  settlements.  Being  so  far 
removed  from  the  Synod,  they  felt  the  need  of  an  organization 
among  themselves,  and  in  1793  were  given  authority  by  the  Min¬ 
isterium  to  form  a  Virginia  Conference.  After  more  than  twenty 
years,  when  the  Conference  had  fulfilled  its  course,  the  Ministerium, 
recognizing  the  right  of  self-determination,  approved  the  organization 
of  the  Synod  of  Maryland  and  Virginia  in  1820.  Since  then  no 
Virginia  churches  have  belonged  to  the  Ministerium,  yet  she  has 
alw  ays  shown  a  deep  and  kindly  interest  in  all  things  Lutheran 
among  us.  Many  of  our  men  have  been  trained  in  your  Seminary 
at  Philadelphia,  and  it  is  a  fact  worth  mentioning,  that  at  present 
twenty-four  of  the  seventy-five  on  the  roll  of  our  Synod  received 
their  training,  either  in  part  or  upon  the  whole,  at  this  same  “school 
of  the  prophets”,  and  also  at  this  time  the  most  responsible  position 
in  our  Synod,  that  of  Synodical  Superintendent,  is  filled,  and  effi¬ 
ciently  so,  by  one  reared  in  one  of  your  congregations  and  trained  in 
your  schools.  These  greetings  would  be  incomplete  without  a 
reference  to  the  ideals  of  our  fathers  and  their  partial  realization. 
The  confessional  basis  of  the  first  Synod  of  Virginia  was  the  Un¬ 
altered  Augsburg  Confession.  This  Synod  at  once  connected  her¬ 
self  with  the  General  Synod.  The  nresent  Synod  of  Virginia  was 
formed  last  year  by  a  union  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Synod  of 
Virginia  (18291,  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Synod  of  Southwestern 
Virginia  (1842),  and  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Holston  Synod 
(1861).  These  have  in  the  main  been  true  to  the  ideals  mentioned 
above,  active  in  the  literary,  educational  and  missionary  work  of  the 
Church.  And  so,  in  addition  to  the  greetings  we  bring  you,  we  also 
bring  this  message — it  is  the  sincere  conviction  of  your  brethren  of 
Virginia,  that  the  ideals  of  those  who  laid  the  foundations  are  more 
nearly  realized  today  than  they  have  ever  been  before. 

THE  SYNOD  OF  OHIO,  1836. 

By  President  Paul  W.  Roller,  D.  D .,  Mansfield,  Ohio. 

I  bring  you  the  greetings  and  sincere  felicitations  of  the  brethren 
of  the  Synod  of  Ohio.  We  not  only  formally  congratulate  you,  but 
we  do  so  with  a  keen  and  deep  appreciation  of  what  you  have  been 
and  what  you  have  done  for  the  cause  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  our  be¬ 
loved  Lutheran  Zion.  In  bringing  these  felicitations,  three  things 


A  ppendix 


305 


in  your  history,  among  many  others,  have  not  only  impressed  us,  but 
have  inspired  us  as  well.  1st.  \  our  adherence  to  the  ideals  and 
practices  of  the  Lutheran  Church.  Those  matters  which  compel 
respect  from  all  men  as  aids  to  true  worship  and  are  distinctly  Lu¬ 
theran  in  church  life,  the  loss  of  which,  without  doubt,  would  have 
helped  to  destroy  our  Lutheran  identity.  Ohio  has  developed  her 
congregations  along  churchly  lines  in  worship  and  practice.  The 
Ministerium  has  been  our  inspiration.  2nd.  We  admire  and  con¬ 
gratulate  you  on  your  continued  recognition  of  the  sons  of  the 
Church,  who  have  proven  their  worth.  Your  willingness,  all  things 
else  being  equal,  to  give  recognition  to  worthy  sons  of  noble  fathers 
has  been  a  source  of  strength  in  producing  a  high  type  of  leadership 
in  educational  and  church  life.  As  we  of  Ohio  see  it,  your  long  list 
of  sons  of  honored  name  is  one  of  your  glories.  3rd.  Your  achieve¬ 
ments  have  been  many  and  continue  to  grow.  \  ou  are  not  living 
in  the  past.  A  new  standard  of  service  is  being  set  every  day.  These 
things  are  indeed  worthy  of  the  strength  of  your  years.  Permit  me 
to  speak  of  just  one  thing  more,  that  enters  into  our  felicitations. 
That  is  your  unswerving  loyalty  to  the  confessions  of  the  Lutheran 
Church.  Those  who  know  the  history  of  our  Church  in  America, 
know  well  the  stress  of  the  different  periods,  and  the  dangers  of  cer¬ 
tain  influences  both  at  home  and  from  abroad.  In  spite  of  these 
things,  the  heart  and  soul  of  the  Ministerium  kept  the  faith,  and 
today  your  confession  is  exactly  the  same  as  that  of  the  day  of  your 
organization.  This  means  much,  not  only  to  you  and  to  us,  but 
to  all  American  Christianity.  It  has  helped  our  great  Church  to 
stand  as  perhaps  no  other  church  stands  today,  undivided  in  its 
allegiance  to  God’s  Word  and  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God. 

THE  INDIA  MISSION,  1841. 

By  Rev.  Frederick  L.  Coleman,  Rajahmundry ,  India. 

In  bringing  a  message  of  greeting  from  the  India  Mission  to  the 
Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania,  I  should  like  briefly  to  mention  four 
interesting  points  of  contact.  One  hundred  and  eighty-four  years 
ago,  when  Muhlenberg  was  a  young  man  in  Halle,  arrangements 
were  made  to  send  him  to  India,  in  the  footsteps  of  Ziegenbalg  and 
Plutschau,  who  had  gone  as  the  pioneer  Protestant  missionaries  just 
thirty-three  years  before.  Muhlenberg  was  ready  to  go,  but  when 
circumstances  pointed  him  elsewhere,  he  said:  “It  seems  clear  that 
it  is  not  God’s  will  for  me  to  go  to  India.”  The  pioneer  of  Lu¬ 
theranism  in  America  almost  had  become  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Lu¬ 
theranism  in  India.  As  we  look  back,  we  can  see  God’s  wise  provi¬ 
dence  in  directing  Muhlenberg  to  America.  The  door  to  Christian 
missions  in  India  did  not  open  effectually  for  another  century,  while 
in  America  during  that  hundred  years  the  solid  foundation  of 
the  church  was  laid.  The  second  point  is  a  direct  contact  of  the 


306 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 


M  inisterium  with  India.  Exactly  one  hundred  years  after  Muhlen¬ 
berg  landed  on  the  shores  of  America,  that  other  great  missionary 
pioneer  and  organizer,  Father  Heyer,  landed  on  the  shores  of 
India.  He  was  sent  out  by  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania,  as  the 
first  foreign  missionary  of  the  American  Lutheran  Church,  and 
founded  our  mission  at  Guntur.  God  did  not  direct  Muhlenberg 
to  India,  but  in  His  own  good  time  He  directed  thither  his  spiritual 
Descendants.  The  third  point  of  contact  is  with  the  Rajahmundry 
M  ission.  In  1869  twenty-seven  years  after  the  Guntur  Mission  was 
founded  by  Father  Heyer,  it  passed  through  the  most  critical  period 
of  its  history.  Through  a  series  of  misfortunes,  out  of  the  eleven 
missionaries  sent  to  the  Mission  at  various  times  during  this  quarter 
of  a  century,  in  1869  there  remained  but  a  single  heroic  survivor, 
M  issionary  Unangst  from  Lehigh  County.  The  Civil  War  and 
the  internal  difficulties  of  the  General  Synod  in  the  troubled  days 
of  1867  led  the  church  almost  to  desert  her  foreign  mission  work. 
The  lone  missionary  in  India,  despairing  of  being  able  to  carry  the 
heavy  burden  laid  upon  him,  proposed  that  the  Rajahmundry  station 
be  transferred  to  the  Church  of  England  mission.  This  was  agreed 
to  by  the  church  at  home,  and  the  arrangements  were  made.  Father 
Heyer,  who  was  then  in  Germany,  heard  of  this  plan,  and  after 
consulting  with  former  Missionary  Groenning,  hurried  to  America, 
and  appeared  at  the  meeting  of  the  Ministerium.  That  year,  1869, 
the  Synod  met  in  Trinity  Church,  Reading,  so  that  here  in  this 
church,  perhaps  standing  on  the  very  spot  where  I  am  now,  Father 
Heyer,  fifty-four  years  ago,  pleaded  that  the  Ministerium  should 
not  let  the  Rajahmundry  Mission  field  fall  into  non-Lutheran  hands. 
In  a  thrilling  climax  to  his  plea  this  courageous  man,  then  77  years 
old,  volunteered  to  go  to  India  and  help  reorganize  the  Rajahmundry 
field.  All  the  hardships  of  the  sea  and  overland  journey  he  cheer¬ 
fully  endured  and  succeeded  in  his  mission  of  saving  the  Rajahmundry 
field  to  the  Lutheran  Church.  1  he  fourth  point  of  contact  is  to¬ 
day.  Though  not  officially  appointed  as  such,  I  should  like  to  be 
considered  as  representing  the  India  Synod  of  the  United  Lutheran 
Church.  Though  the  youngest  or  next  to  the  youngest  of  the 
thirty-seven  synods  of  the  United  Lutheran  Church,  it  is  the  fourth 
in  size,  with  its  1100  congregations  and  100,000  baptized  members. 
The  Mother  Synod  can  be  proud  of  her  share  in  bringing  all  this 
to  pass.  She  founded  the  work  in  India;  she  saved  the  Rajahmundry 
field  to  the  Lutheran  Church ;  she  has  given  27  missionaires  to  this 
field,  and  her  interest  and  support  are  steadily  growing. 

THE  SYNOD  OF  EAST  PENNSYLVANIA,  1842. 

Hy  President  IT.  IT.  A.  Hanson ,  D.  Td.,  Harrisburg ,  Pa. 

I  regard  it  a  great  privilege  to  convey  to  you  to-day  the  sin¬ 
cere  affection  and  hearty  congratulations  of  the  East  Pennsylvania 
Synod.  There  are  abundant  reasons  for  congratulation.  I  congratu- 


A  ppend'ix 


307 


late  you  upon  the  heritage  you  enjoy.  The  heritage  of  noble  tasks 
heroically  launched,  of  sacrifices  cheerfully  made,  of  loyalty  fostered 
through  successive  generations,  loyalty  to  things  worth  while.  I 
congratulate  you  on  the  task  that  confronts  you.  The  task  of  draw¬ 
ing  the  Lutheran  Church  into  a  closer  comradeship.  We  may  differ 
in  superficial  matters,  we  are  united  in  the  great  fundamentals  of  our 
faith.  We  stand  face  to  face  with  the  country  we  love.  What, 
after  all,  is  America  but  a  great  spiritual  experiment?  Into  this  con¬ 
tinent  of  opportunity  God  brought  men  from  every  land  upon  which 
the  sun  shines.  Each  nation  came  with  its  talents,  its  dreams,  its 
prayers,  to  find  in  this  great  garden  of  God  larger  opportunities  for 
achievement.  What  shall  be  the  product  and  outcome  of  this  blend¬ 
ing  of  blood  and  dreams?  It  is  our  challenge  to  weave  into  the  woof 
and  warp  of  the  fabric  of  American  life  a  love  of  God,  a  devotion 
to  the  ideals  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  shall  make  the  America  of  to¬ 
morrow  one  whose  soul  shall  be  thrilled  and  filled  with  the  mind 
that  was  in  Christ  Jesus.  1  am  not  so  deeply  concerned  with  the 
fact  that  the  world  is  looking  to  America  as  never  before ;  I  am  more 
concerned  with  the  fact,  that  God  is  looking  to  America  to  lead  in 
the  creation  of  a  new  day  that  shall  gather  up  and  articulate  the 
hopes  and  prayers  of  those  who  have  gone  before.  The  United  Lu¬ 
theran  Church  is  prepared  as  few  others  to  contribute  to  the  crea¬ 
tion  of  this  new  era.  Our  ranks  are  not  divided.  We  are  not 
disturbed  by  liberalists  or  fundamentalists.  Whatever  may  be  the 
cut  of  our  coat  or  the  angle  of  our  collar,  we  are  united  in  our  de¬ 
termination  to  give  the  whole  Bible  to  the  whole  world,  to  exalt 
Jesus  Christ  as  the  divine  Son  of  God,  and  to  be  true  to  the  funda¬ 
mental  principles  of  the  church  which  is  our  common  heritage.  I 
want  to-day  to  congratulate  you  on  the  large  part  which  your  Synod 
will  play  in  the  creation  of  this  new  era.  May  God  ever  grant  you 
vision  and  courage  and  the  full  consciousness  of  His  divine  presence 
and  blessing. 


THE  ALLEGHENY  SYNOD,  1842. 

By  President  S.  N.  Carpenter,  D.  D.,  Johnstown,  Pa. 

The  Mountain  Synod  of  the  East  presents  cordial  and  affec¬ 
tionate  greetings  to  the  Mother  Synod  of  America.  We  offer  to  you 
our  heartiest  congratulations  as  well  as  deep  thanks  to  Almighty  God 
for  your  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  years  of  service.  Even  a 
casual  glance  at  the  minutes  of  your  body  reveals  an  efficient  or¬ 
ganization  with  the  whole  body  fitly  joined  together  and  the  effectual 
co-working  of  all  its  parts.  We  are  pleased  to  see  our  Mother 
Synod  the  bulwark  and  rock  of  defense  of  the  faith  once  delivered 
to  the  saints.  We  note  with  pride  your  fidelity  to  the  faith  of  our 
Church  as  expressed  in  her  matchless  confessions,  your  consistent 
ecclesiastical  life  as  shown  in  pure  forms  of  worship,  proper  admin¬ 
istration  of  the  sacraments  and  biblical  education  of  the  young.  We 


308 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 

are  glad  to  note  furthermore,  that  your  adherence  to  the  old  faith 
and  practices  is  not  reactionary,  but  conservative  of  the  true  and  best 
interests  of  the  Church.  We  perceive  the  healthy  signs  of  progress 
in  youi  plans  for  consistent  evangelism,  modern  education  and  ser¬ 
vice  of  love,  such  as  our  age  demands  rightly  of  a  church  blessed 
v\  ith  such  traditions  and  enriched  with  such  talents  as  our  own. 
Owing  to  difference  in  tradition,  training,  environment  and  task, 
some  of  our  practices  are  frankly  more  liberal  than  yours,  and  may 
even  seem  at  variance  with  the  same.  But  such  slight  differences  as 
exist  grow'  chiefly  out  of  the  necessities  and  conditions  indicated 
rather  than  out  of  disregard  for  the  spirit  and  cultus  of  our  Church. 

1  he  doctrinal  position  of  our  Synod  stands  without  challenge.  Be¬ 
tween  the  Ministerium  and  the  Allegheny  Synod  the  Augsburg  Con¬ 
fession  and  the  Formula  of  Concord  are  safe!  The  loadstone  of 
k  hristo-centric  theology  must  adjust  practice  to  doctrine  as  surely  as 
the  needle  is  true  to  the  Pole.  We  are  impressd  with  the  thought 
that,  in  the  final  summation,  true  union  is  neither  territorial  nor 
organic,  but  of  the  heart.  And  the  development  of  a  heart  to  heart 
unity  requires  more  time  and  patience  than  to  effect  a  mere  official 
union  of  external  organization.  Let  us  continue  to  be  one  in 
doctrine,  one  in  service  and  co-operation,  and  above  all  things, 
one  in  love.  For  after  all,  is  not  the  true  unity  like  that  of  the  visible 
example  of  the  divine  creation  of  a  diversity  in  unity,  namely,  the 
one  great  white  light  broken  up  into  the  seven  prismatic  colors  of 
the  rainbow,  as  it  impinges  on  media  of  different  density,  to  be  re¬ 
solved  again  into  the  one  shaft  of  pure,  white  light?’  “There  are 
diversities  of  operation,  but  it  is  the  same  God  which  worketh  all 
in  all.” 


THE  PITTSBURGH  SYNOD,  1845. 

By  the  R  ev.  D.  M.  K  emerer,  Pittsburgh ,  Pa. 

The  Ministerium  was  rounding  out  nearly  a  century  of  its  hon¬ 
orable  career  when  the  Pittsburgh  Synod  came  into  being.  Prior  to 
this  event  Western  Pennsylvania  wras  included  in  your  synodical 
boundaries  and  you  wrere  supplying  in  a  limited  way  the  scattered 
members  of  our  household  of  faith  with  the  means  of  grace.  From 
1782  to  1^41  you  sent  14  teachers,  catechists  and  preachers  into  the 
counties  of  Westmoreland,  Washington,  Fayette,  Allegheny,  Butler, 
M  ercer,  Crawford.  Erie,  Venango,  Indiana  and  Jefferson,  among 
whom  were  Anton  Lutge,  John  Stauch,  Tohn  M.  Steck,  Peter  Rup- 
pert,  Robert  Colson,  F.  C.  Hever  and  Gabriel  Reichart.  Many  of 
our  ministers  also  have  held  membership  in  both  bodies,  and  it  is  with 
lust  pride  that  we  recall  that  Dr.  Charles  Porterfield  Krauth,  the 
profound  scholar  and  teacher  came  from  us  to  vou,  and  that  Dr. 
H  enrv  Eyster  Jacobs,  the  emine'nt  theologian  and  prolific  author  of 
valuable  publications  was  ordained  by  the  Pittsburgh  Synod.  The 
extensive  missionary  program  projected  at  the  organization  of  the 


A  ppendix 


309 


Pittsburgh  Synod  in  1845,  found  generous  supporters  in  the  Minis- 
terium,  whose  contributions  assisted  in  establishing  congregations  in 
cities  in  Canada  and  in  the  States  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Texas, 
Michigan,  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin.  Dear  Brethren,  for  your 
bountiful  helpfulness,  from  which  the  Pittsburgh  Synod  has  greatly 
benehtted,  we  express  our  sincere  gratitude.  As  a  matter  for  mutual 
satisfaction  it  may  be  mentioned,  that  in  developing  the  faith  and 
life  of  the  church,  and  in  special  work  in  education,  missions  and 
mercy,  undertaken  by  the  respective  bodies,  there  has  been  a  com¬ 
mendable  interest  and  cordial  co-operation.  Dr.  W.  A.  Passavant, 
the  well-known  philanthropist,  participated  in  the  founding  of  the 
Germantown  Orphans’  and  Old  People’s  Home.  The  beautiful 
Krauth  Memorial  Library,  adorning  the  Seminary  campus  at  Mt. 
Airy,  is  the  gift  of  a  benevolent  layman  of  the  Pittsburgh  Synod. 
The  founders  of  the  Ministerium  on  arriving  on  the  Western  Con¬ 
tinent  were  confronted  with  innumerable  difficulties.  They  were 
strangers  in  a  strange  land.  But  they  were  godly  and  consecrated 
men;  and  under  the  leadership  of  Patriarch  Muhlenberg  they  ad¬ 
dressed  themselves  to  the  work  to  which  they  firmly  believed  they 
were  divinely  called.  They  laid  the  foundations  broad  and  strong. 
They  did  not  accomplish  all  they  desired,  but  their  selfdenying  labors 
resulted  in  manifold  blessings  to  posterity.  They  left  to  their  suc¬ 
cessors  a  legacy  of  unfinished  problems  which  have  been  solved,  or 
are  in  process  of  being  solved  to  the  growth  and  prestige  of  our 
beloved  Lutheran  Zion.  It  is  a  significant  fact,  worthy  of  mention, 
that  among  the  membership  of  the  Ministerium  there  have  appeared 
eloquent  preachers,  learned  divines,  distinguished  scholars,  brilliant 
authors  and  versatile  editors.  They  have  attained  to  high  eminence 
and  are  greatly  esteemed  in  literary  and  scholastic  circles  at  home 
and  abroad ;  and  many  of  your  laity  have  been  chosen  to  fill  re¬ 
sponsible  positions  in  the  National  Government  and  others  served 
with  great  honor,  as  governors,  state  officials  and  judges,  and  rose 
to  prominence  in  professional  and  business  life,  and  at  the  same 
time  gave  to  the  work  of  the  Church  the  full  measure  of  their  de¬ 
votion.  These  reputable  gentlemen  are  the  glory  of  the  Ministerium. 
Future  generations  should  sacredly  cherish  their  memory  and  per¬ 
petuate  their  renown.  Having  splendidly  equipped  collegiate  and 
theological  institutions,  provided  with  an  excellent  system  of  Mis¬ 
sionary  and  Inner  Mission  activities,  blessed  with  an  educated  min¬ 
istry  and  a  consecrated  laity,  a  future  of  nameless  possibilities  lies  be¬ 
fore  you.  M  ay  the  Lord  give  you  grace  to  face  it  with  confidence. 
Dear  brethren,  we  bring  to  you  on  this  happy  occasion  the  con¬ 
gratulations  of  the  Pittsburgh  Synod. 

THE  SYNOD  OF  CENTRAL  PENNSYLVANIA,  1855 

The  Rev.  A.  H.  Spangler,  Yeagertown ,  Pa. 

Listed  as  representative  of  the  Central  Pennsylvania  Synod  was 
not  present  and  no  greeting  from  this  Synod  was  presented. 


310 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 
THE  AUGUSTANA  SYNOD,  1860. 

By  the  Rev.  H.  E.  Sandstedt,  Chicago,  111. 

1  he  Augustana  Synod  has  a  peculiar  interest  in  the  Ministerium 
of  Pennsylvania  and  in  being  represented  at  this  convention.  I 
regret  with  the  esteemed  president  of  our  body,  the  Rev.  Dr.  G.  A. 
Brandelle,  that  he  was  unable,  on  account  of  official  duties,  to  bring 
the  felicitations  of  our  Synod  in  person.  Let  me  however  assure 
you,  that  nothing  would  have  pleased  him  more  than  to  be  here 
at  this  very  moment.  According  to  the  authority  of  your  own  ven¬ 
erable  Dr.  Jacobs,  in  his  American  Church  History,  the  delegates  to 
that  organization  meeting  were  gathered  at  the  home  of  Pastor 
Brunnholtz  on  Sunday,  August  24th,  and  from  there  the  procession 
was  headed  by  the  Swedish  provost  Sandin.  On  that  memorable 
day,  St.  Michaels  Church  was  consecrated  to  its  holy  purpose,  a 
child  was  received  into  communion  with  Christ  and  H  is  Church 
through  Holy  Baptism,  Mr.  Kurtz  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  of 
the  Gospel,  and  the  pastors  with  a  few  of  the  congregation  received 
the  Holy  Supper.  It  is  also  recorded,  that  from  this  gathering  six 
public  prayers  ascended  to  the  Throne  of  Grace.  Two  of  these 
prayers  were  offered  in  the  Swedish  language  and  four  in  the  Ger¬ 
man.  While  the  Delaware  Swedes  were  never  members  of  the 
Augustana  Synod,  they  were  nevertheless  blood  of  our  blood,  and 
flesh  of  our  flesh,  and  as  the  years  go  by  we  regret  more  and  more, 
that  they  did  not  hold  out  just  a  few  more  years,  until  the  pioneer 
founders  of  our  Synod  arrived ;  that  would  have  made  a  different 
story  now.  However,  we  rejoice  to  know  that  they  co-operated  in 
the  organization  of  your  Synod.  They  were  frequently,  and  some 
of  them  regularly  present  at  your  annual  meetings,  and  took  part  in 
the  deliberations.  The  relation  between  your  fathers  and  some  of 
the  Swedes  became  very  intimate.  I  can  but  in  passing  refer  to  the 
cordial,  sincere  and  lasting  friendship  that  existed  between  Muhlen¬ 
berg  and  Charles  M.  Wrangel,  a  fact  to  be  cherished  by  a  grateful 
Church  and  her  children  to-day.  My  little  message  to  you  on  behalf 
of  our  Synod  would  be  incomplete  unless  I  referred  to  another  and 
very  important  event  in  the  history  of  our  Church.  I  have  refer¬ 
ence  to  the  founding  of  the  General  Council.  In  its  organization 
the  delegates  from  the  Ministerium  and  from  the  Augustana  Synod 
united  their  efforts  and  their  influence.  With  unflinching  conviction 
they  advocated  purity  of  doctrine  and  took  their  stand  in  favor  of 
historic  and  pure  Lutheranism.  We  thank  God  for  the  blessings 
that  have  come  to  us  as  a  result  of  their  faith,  for  the  men  your 
Synod  has  produced,  and  for  the  services  they  have  rendered  our 
Church.  As  a  representative  of  a  younger  generation,  I  bring  you 
our  tribute  of  appreciation  and  of  gratitude,  and  as  a  fraternal  dele¬ 
gate  of  the  Augustana  Synod,  I  extend  to  you  our  sincere  and  hearty 
congratulations  at  this  your  175th  Anniversary  Convention. 


Appendix 


311 


THE  SUSQUEHANNA  SYNOD,  1867. 

By  the  Rev.  1 .  P.  Alan  hart,  D.  D.,  Selinsgrove Pa. 

I  o  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania  and  Adjacent  States  on  her 
175th  Anniversary  the  Susquehanna  Synod  presents  her  Christia'n 
greetings  and  cordial  felicitations.  Felicitations,  first,  because  of  the 
character  of  the  Ministerium’s  illustrious  founder,  a  man  whose  like 
in  patriarchal  dignity,  apostolic  vision,  service  and  influence  Lu¬ 
theranism  has  not  produced  anywhere  in  the  world  during  the  last 
200  years.  The  Susquehanna  Synod  also  felicitates  the  Ministerium 
upon  the  long  list  of  honored  names  upon  its  roll  of  ministers. 
Some  came  to  it  from  the  fatherland  ;  some  were  born,  reared  and 
ordained  within  the  bounds  of  the  Ministerium,  and  then  found  their 
main  fields  of  influential  service  in  daughter  synods;  some  came  to 
the  Ministerium  from  younger  synods,  in  which  they  were  reared 
and  rendered  their  earliest  service,  and  then  enriched  the  life  of  the 
older  body;  still  others,  sons  of  the  Ministerium,  rendered  their  dis¬ 
tinguished  services  entirely  or  mainly  in  their  mother  synod.  These 
gifted  and  devoted  men,  have  given  lustre  to  the  Ministerium  and 
to  the  entire  Lutheran  Communion.  The  Ministerium  is  to  be 
felicitated  upon  the  character  of  the  daughter  Synods  represented 
here  at  the  parental  hearth.  Each,  in  its  sphere  has  accomplished  some 
worthwhile  things  for  the  Kingdom.  All,  this  day,  rise  up  and  call 
their  venerable  Mother  blessed.  As  one  of  these  synods,  the  Susque¬ 
hanna  gratefully  claims  that  her  missionary  spirit,  first  as  a  Con¬ 
ference,  then  as  a  Synod,  proves  her  a  true  heir  of  the  spirit  of 
Muhlenberg,  as  expressed  in  his  motto  “Ecclesia  Plantanda”.  She 
is  also  the  mother  of  the  Lutheran  Publication  Society  and  of  the 
Deaconess  work  of  the  General  Synod.  The  Susquehanna  Synod 
congratulates  the  Ministerium  upon  the  manifest  guidance  of  Provi¬ 
dence  throughout  the  various  testing  epochs  of  her  existence.  Con¬ 
ditions  were  grave  and  perplexing  in  the  Church,  in  Society  and 
in  the  State  in  1748;  but  somehow  the  Ministerium  was  providen¬ 
tially  led  and  preserved  from  losing  itself  by  merging  or  absorption. 
Contrast  the  situation  to-dav  with  that  of  a  century  ago.  Then  the 
M  inisterium  appeared  ready  for  a  union  seminary  and  for  merging 
with  another  denomination.  Providentially  kept  from  those  fatal 
steps,  she  gradually  regained  her  Lutheran  consciousness  and  became 
that  strong  power  for  conservative  Lutheranism  that  is  her  strength 
and  glorv.  That  she  may  do  her  full  part  in  securing  for  Luther¬ 
anism  and  for  the  entire  Christian  Church  all  that  is  essential  to 
meet  the  world’s  need  to-day  and  in  the  future,  we  fervently  pray, 
that  evermore  in  bounteous  fullness  the  blessings  of  the  Triune  God 
may  rest  upon  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania. 


3  12  Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 

THE  SYNOD  OF  NEW  YORK  AND  NEW  ENGLAND,  1902 
By  the  Rev.  F.  F.  Fry,  D.  D.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

It  is  inspiring  to  stand  in  this  familiar  place  and  speak  to  the 
Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania,  which  ordained  me  to  the  Gospel 
ministry.  Here  in  this  church  1  was  baptized,  at  this  altar  I  was 
confirmed  and  for  the  first  time  partook  of  the  Lord’s  Supper,  from 
this  pulpit  it  was  my  privilege  to  preach  the  unsearchable  riches  ot 
Christ.  As  a  young  school  boy  1  attended  the  sessions  of  the  Penn¬ 
sylvania  Ministerium  within  these  walls,  and  now  I  come  as  the 
representative  of  the  New  York  and  New  England  Synod,  to  bring 
you  its  warm  hearted,  true  hearted,  whole  hearted  greetings.  As 
its  spokesman  1  say,  God  bless  you.  God  speed  you  on  your  way. 
Hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  you.  May  He  continue  evermore 
to  guide  you  by  His  Spirit  into  all  truth.  In  these  days  when  many 
are  drifting  from  their  moorings,  in  this  age  of  inquiry  and  inves¬ 
tigation,  when  increasing  numbers  are  seeking  after  truth,  and 
yet  an  age  which  too  often  magnifies  breadth  at  the  expense  of  depth, 
it  is  refreshing  to  stand  before  a  group  of  men  who  know  what  they 
believe,  and  why  they  believe  it,  and  who  have  the  courage  of  their 
convictions.  I  thank  God  this  day  with  all  my  heart,  that  this  Min¬ 
isterium  stands  and  has  stood  for  something  positive,  definite,  con¬ 
servative  and  constructive.  Surveying  these  175  years,  with  abun¬ 
dant  proofs  of  God’s  presence  and  power,  we  cannot  but  thank  God 
and  take  courage.  Great  and  glorious  are  our  opportunities;  let  us 
thank  God  for  them.  Equally  great  and  glorious  are  our  respon¬ 
sibilities;  let  us  dedicate  our  lives  to  them.  We  are  living  in  a 
grand  and  awful  time,  in  which  we  have  our  part  to  take,  our  work 
to  do,  our  responsibilities  to  share.  May  we  not  shirk,  nor  shrink, 
nor  swerve  from  the  straight  path  of  duty,  but  conscious  of  our 
God-given  privileges,  let  us  bravely  go  forward,  that  we  may  give  a 
good  account  of  our  stewardship. 

1  HE  UNITED  LUTHERAN  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA,  1918 

By  President  F.  //.  Knuhel,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  New  "5  ork  City. 

Your  anniversary  celebrates  a  beginning  of  Lutheran  organiza¬ 
tion  in  this  country  which  has  its  present  culmination  in  the  United 
Lutheran  Church,  of  which  you  are  a  part.  Our  greeting  to  you  is 
therefore  distinctly  to  the  leader  in  our  life  as  a  Church.  We  thank 
God  for  that  leadership  while  we  greet  you.  This  leadership  of 
yours  is  however  not  merely  historical.  It  is  a  present  fact  even  in 
the  numerical  strength  of  the  Ministerium.  While  you  stand  first 
in  that  respect,  and  while  your  influence  is  consequently  the  greatest, 
it  is  a  ioy  to  preet  vou  with  the  statement  that  no  other  constituent 
synod  of  our  Church  is  more  loyal  to  our  principles,  purposes,  and 
operations  than  are  you.  Time  forbids  an  enlargement  upon  that 


A  ppendix 


313 


fact.  ^  ou  are  first  among  equals.  We  appeal  to  you  to  be  a  leader 
in  the  fullest  and  highest  sense  of  that  term.  1  here  is  something 
however,  which  needs  to  be  said  on  this  anniversary,  in  case  it  does 
not  engage  the  attention  of  other  speakers.  Others  will  inevitably 
trace  in  your  history  the  conditions  of  Lutheranism  at  various  times 
during  the  past,  conditions  in  which  you  had  an  important  part. 
1'here  is  special  ground  for  joyous  thanksgiving,  however,  on  this 
anniversary  because  of  the  condition  of  Lutheranism  now  as  you 
celebrate.  It  also  is  a  condition  in  which  your  part  is  a  vital  one. 
In  thus  speaking  I  am  not  unmindful  of  the  bitter  distresses  of  the 
Lutheran  Church  to-day.  They  have  led  to  pessimistic  utterences 
from  some  sources.  We  may  also  be  rightly  humbled  because  of  the 
consciousness  of  many  neglected  opportunities.  There  is,  never¬ 
theless,  another  and  even  more  important  view  to  take.  For  in¬ 
stance,  in  the  deepest  sense  there  exists  to-day  a  renaissance  of  Lu¬ 
theran  cohesiveness.  We  have  become  renewedly  conscious  that  our 
confession  of  the  Gospel  is  true  and  full.  We  are  renewedly  aware 
also  that  the  devotion  to  that  confession  is  positive  wherever  the  name 
Lutheran  is  used.  While  we  sadly  see  dissension  as  to  the  faith  else¬ 
where  among  Christians,  there  are  no  voices  of  essential  dissent 
among  us.  There  is  unity  of  a  fundamental  character.  It  is  in 
the  consciousness  of  the  seriousness  and  the  uplift  of  these  days  of 
your  anniversary  that  this  greeting  is  brought.  You  are  taking  a 
vigorous  part  in  it  all.  If  there  has  been  any  reserve  hitherto,  I 
pray  you  to  cast  it  aside  and  to  throw  your  consecrated  soul  into 
the  unguessed  tasks  our  Lord  would  have  our  Church  perform.  He 
has  given  these  gifts  to  us.  He  has  set  before  us  an  open  door. 


I) 

I 

.  J 


THE  IDEALS  OF  1748 
AND  THEIR  REALIZATION* 

HENRY  EYSTER  JACOBS 

The  real  founders  of  the  new  world  were  not  the  pioneers 
who  were  drawn  hither  by  material  interests,  but  the  humble 
and  devout  immigrants  who  came  across  the  ocean  with  the 
Bible  in  their  hands  and  the  sense  of  individual  responsibility- 
quickened  and  developed  by  their  experience  of  the  grace  of 
God.  The  Spaniards  in  the  South  sought  for  gold  and  precious 
stones;  the  French,  in  the  North,  for  fish  and  furs.  Where  are 
the  empires  which  they  attempted  to  found  ? 

Our  fathers  brought  with  them  no  dreams  of  a  new  nation 
of  imperial  proportions,  or  of  a  national  church  or  any  church 
organization  that  should  cover  the  continent.  With  all  its  de¬ 
fects,  it  was  a  religious  age.  Beneath  the  turmoil  and  violence 
of  superstition  and  tyranny,  the  spirit  of  God  was  moving  upon 
the  face  of  the  waters,  speaking  to  the  hearts  of  men,  inspiring 
new  ideals,  uniting  them  unconsciously  in  common  purposes,  and 
directing  the  currents  of  spiritual  life  towards  a  common  end 
in  God’s  world  plan,  far  beyond  all  they  could  ask  or  think. 

One  of  these  groups  of  Christian  people,  acting  in  seeming 
independence  and  yet  co-operating  in  the  opening  of  this  land 
for  the  kingdom  of  God,  was  represented  in  the  band  of  six 
ministers  and  about  thirty-seven  laymen,  who  participated  im 
the  event  we  are  celebrating  today.  It  will  be  our  task  to  con¬ 
sider  a  few  of  the  principles  for  which  they  stood,  and  the 
degree  in  which  these  principles  have,  under  the  leading  of 
God’s  Spirit,  found  expression  in  the  subsequent  history  of  the 
Church. 

Unless  there  had  been  a  certain  unity  of  faith,  a  certain 
responsibility  for  a  task  larger  than  any  individual  pastor  or 
congregation  could  accomplish,  the  project  would  not  have  been 
undertaken.  It  originated  in  the  untiring  efforts  of  two  of  the 
most  active  and  influential  Lutheran  laymen  of  that  period, 
men  of  wide  business  experience  and  of  acknowledged  standing 
in  their  communities,  one,  Peter  Koch,  the  representative  of 

♦Address  at  the  175th  anniversary  of  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsyl¬ 
vania,  Reading,  Pa.,  June  5,  1923. 


316 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 


the  Swedish  Church,  and  the  other,  Henry  Schleydorn,  one  of 
the  officers  of  the  Philadelphia  Church,  previously  active  in  the 
Dutch  Lutheran  congregation  in  New  York  City.1  Some  four 
years  before  this,  these  men  had  brought  the  pastors  together, 
but  after  long  discussion,  a  division  among  the  Swedes  de¬ 
feated  their  plans.  Muhlenberg,  yet  a  young  man,  was  feeling 
his  way  amidst  his  new  surroundings,  content  for  the  present 
that  the  pastors  coming  from  Halle  were  known  as  The  United 
Pastors  of  the  United  Congregations.  The  laymen,  however, 
insisted  that  some  closer  bond  must  be  formed  than  that  of  a 
common  dependence  upon  European  advice  and  supervision. 
There  were  problems  that  had  to  be  settled  in  this  country,  or 
all  the  Lutheran  churches  would  have  followed  the  fate  of  the 
Dutch  churches  on  the  Hudson,  and  of  the  Swedish  churches 
on  the  Delaware.  Possibly  if  the  lay  representative  of  the 
Swedes  (Mr.  Koch)  had  not  died  the  succeeding  year,  the 
connection  of  the  Swedish  churches  with  the  Ministerium 
would  have  been  more  permanent,  and  would  have  saved  them 
to  our  Church. 

The  program  of  the  laity,  however,  was  not  so  much  a 
union  of  the  congregations  as  of  the  pastors ;  perhaps  rather 
a  union  of  the  congregations  through  a  union  of  the  pastors. 
All  they  seemed  to  ask  is  that  all  the  congregations  shall  have 
a  hearing  through  a  sufficient  number  of  lay  representatives, 
that  every  pastor  may  know  the  conditions  existing  in  every 
congregation,  and  that  the  lay  representatives,  and  through 
them  the  congregations,  may  learn  to  know  and  weigh  the 
judgment  and  advice  of  every  pastor  as  well  as  that  of  the 
laymen  in  other  congregations.  The  pastors  were  regarded  as 
belonging  to  all  the  people,  and  all  the  people  as  a  charge  for 
which  each  individual  pastor,  in  an  order  hereafter  to  be  pro¬ 
vided,  would  bear  a  certain  measure  of  responsibility.  The  plan 
was  that  after  the  laity  were  heard  and  questioned  by  the  pas¬ 
tors,  and  the  pastors  were  heard  and  questioned  by  the  laity, 
the  carrying  out  of  the  decisions  on  general  questions  should 
lielong  to  the  pastors,  and  the  carrying  out  of  those  pertaining 
to  the  administration  of  the  congregations,  to  the  congrega- 

1  For  details  see  Acrelius’  History  of  New  Sweden,  English  Trans¬ 
lation  by  Dr.  W.  M.  Reynolds,  pp.  245  sq. 


Appendix 


317 


tions.  Hence  the  word  “Ministerium,”  not  “Synod,”  became 
the  official  title ;  and  a  congregational  pledge  of  the  Tulpehocken 
congregation  entered  at  this  convention  declares,  “We  recog¬ 
nize  all  the  pastors  of  the  United  Congregations  as  our  pastors 
and  shepherds.” 

The  Constitution  of  this  Ministerium  was  already  in  pro¬ 
cess  of  formation,  but  a  generation  was  to  elapse  before  it  was 
to  be  embodied  in  a  regularly  articulated  document.  It  would 
have  been  a  natural  course  for  Muhlenberg  to  have  written  to 
the  Halle  authorities,  or  to  Doctor  Ziegenhagen  in  London,  to 
prepare  a  constitution  as  the  basis  for  their  deliberations ;  or 
the  pastors  could  have  assembled  and  compiled  a  constitution 
out  of  the  rich  material  that  the  Church  Orders  of  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries  -would  have  furnished ;  or  Muhlen¬ 
berg,  who  elaborated  an  excellent  liturgy  and  was  an  expert  in 
the  preparation  of  congregational  constitutions,  might  have  sub¬ 
mitted  a  preliminary  draft  as  the  basis,  which,  because  of  the 
weight  of  his  personality,  might  have  met  with  immediate  and 
unanimous  approval.  But  this  was  not  done.  Was  it  because, 
as  yet,  they  were  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  which  has  survived 
to  the  present-day  without  such  an  instrument,  although  its 
unwritten  Constitution  can  be  read  in  the  Magna  Charta  and  the 
Bill  of  Rights  and  the  decisions  of  legally  constituted  tri¬ 
bunals?  A  constitution  to  be  permanently  enforced  must  grow 
out  of  the  life  of  the  people  as  a  correct  interpretation  of  its 
well-matured  and  thoroughly-rooted  convictions,  and  an  ex¬ 
pression  of  the  lessons  of  long  experience.  The  unwritten  must 
prepare  the  way  for  the  written  law.  In  our  own  ecclesiastical 
legislation,  a  constitution  is  a  contract  specifying  the  terms  upon 
which  the  people  therein  represented  agree  to  discharge  certain 
obligations  for  which  they  mutually  recognize  themselves  as 
responsible.  The  strength  of  the  law  rests  in  the  consciences 
of  the  people;  the  law  is  strong  to  the  degree  that  they  under¬ 
stand  thoroughly  its  provisions  and  recognize  that  they  are 
right. 

Our  fathers,  therefore,  were  content  for  years  with  noth¬ 
ing  more  than  a  mutual  understanding  of  what  was  to  be 
done.  They  were  breaking  the  way  for  the  democratization  of 
the  Lutheran  Church  throughout  the  world  and  for  all  time — 


318  Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 

a  task  which  the  Wittenberg  Faculty,  of  heroic  days,  had  left 
incomplete. 

Meanwhile,  however,  the  Confessions  of  the  Church,  to 
which  from  the  very  first  ordination  they  pledged  all  candidates 
to  the  ministry,  effectually  protected  them  from  fluctuating 
opinions.  These  Confessions  are  to  the  Lutheran  Church  what 
the  Magna  Charta  has  been  to  the  British  Government.  They 
do  not  lay  down  laws  for  specific  cases,  but  only  state,  and  dis¬ 
cuss  at  length,  the  principles  which  underlie  their  decision.  He 
who  has  the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  the  only  absolute  authority, 
and  the  Confessions  of  the  Lutheran  Church  as  an  illuminating 
record  and  trustworthy  model  of  the  application  of  these  prin¬ 
ciples,  will  not  go  far  wrong.  Better  a  Church  with  a  clear  and 
definite  confession,  even  without  a  constitution,  than  one  with 
the  most  minutely  elaborated  constitution,  which  nevertheless 
is  without  a  confessional  basis. 

It  is  important  for  us,  then,  to  remember  that  one  of  the 
first  acts  of  the  Convention  of  1748  was  to  solemnly  charge 
John  N.  Kurtz  “to  teach  nothing,  whether  publicly  or  privately, 
but  what  harmonized  with  the  Word  of  God  and  the  Confes¬ 
sions  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church” ;  and  that  another 
act  was  to  set  apart  St.  Michael’s  Church,  that  “in  it  the  Evan¬ 
gelical  Lutheran  doctrine  should  be  taught  according  to  the 
foundation  of  the  prophets  and  apostles  and  the  Unaltered 
Augsburg  Confession  and  all  the  other  Symbolical  Books.” 
The  first  written  constitution  (1781)  prescribes  that  “every 
minister  professes  that  he  holds  to  the  Word  of  God  and  the 
Symbolical  Books  in  doctrine  and  life”;  and  declares  “positive 
errors  opposed  to  the  plain  teachings  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
and  to  our  Symbolical  Books,”  as  the  first  subject  for  disci¬ 
pline. 

Inasmuch  as  in  1792,  and  for  more  than  a  half  century 
thereafter,  all  reference  to  the  Symbolical  Books  and  even  to 
the  Augsburg  Confession  is  lacking  in  the  constitutions  of  the 
Ministerium,  the  inference  has  often  been  made  that  the  Min- 
isterium  repudiated'  its  former  confessional  fidelity.  Unfortu¬ 
nate  as  this  omission  was,  it  is  not  without  an  explanation,  for 
by  the  constitution  of  1792  lay  delegates  were  for  the  'first  time 
accorded  the  'right  to  vote.  As,  therefore,  the-' Lutheran  Church 


Appendix 


319 


has  exacted  the  subscription  to  the  full  body  of  the  Con¬ 
fessions  only  of  those  who  are  to  become  its  official  teachers, 
and  has  never  required  of  the  laity  more  than  the  reception  of 
Luther’s  Small  Catechism,  the  suggestion  would  occur  that  in 
a  synodical  constitution,  only  such  requirements  might  be  made 
as  could  be  complied  with  by  all  who  were  to  act  as  the 
Church’  representatives  in  synodical  meetings. 

It  was  not  until  during  the  Revolutionary  War  ( 1781 ) 2 
that  the  fathers  gave  fully-matured  expression  to  the  princi¬ 
ples  which  they  for  thirty-three  years  had  been  following. 
This  first  constitution  clearly  shows  that  Henry  Melchior 
Muhlenberg  was  still  alive  and  his  spirit  was  dominant,  for  its 
title  does  not  restrict  it  to  “Pennsylvania  and  the  adjacent 
states,”  but  it  is  entitled,  “The  Constitution  of  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Ministerium  of  North  America.”  Its  bounds  are  thus 
extended  from  Canada  on  the  North,  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  on 
the  South;  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific;  there  is  thus 
one  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  with  one  Evangelical  Luth¬ 
eran  ministry — as  there  is  but  one  Evangelical  Lutheran  faith 
for  the  whole  country.  An  illuminating  commentary  on  this 
title  is  found  in  a  letter  written  by  Muhlenberg  to  Benjamin 
Franklin,  in  1754,  and  read  by  Franklin  to  the  directors  of  the 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  among  the  Germans 
of  Pennsylvania,  at  a  meeting  held  in  the  residence  of  Chief 
Justice  Allen  on  the  Seminary  grounds  at  Mount  Airy,  in 
which  Muhlenberg  suggests  that  the  work  of  the  Society  be 
extended  to  New  York,  New  England,  New  Jersey,  Maryland, 
Virginia,  Carolina  and  Georgia.  Up  to  that  date  no  other 
Church  had  undertaken  to  embrace  all  its  members  in  any  or¬ 
ganization  that  went  beyond  state  boundaries.  It  was  only  after 
the  Revolutionary  War  that  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  (1789),  and  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  (1789), 
and  the  Methodist  Church  in  the  United  States  were  organ¬ 
ized.  Colonial  Churches  had  given  way  to  state  Churches ;  but 
national  organizations,  in  other  denominations,  came  only  when 
peace  had  been  declared.  This  Ministerium,  in  thus  projecting 

2  The  same  year  that  Articles  of  Confederation  for  the  American 
colonies  were  agreed  upon. 


320 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 


an  organization  even  wider  than  the  new  nation,  anticipated 
every  Church  Body  on  the  continent. 

Nor  was  it  Muhlenberg’s  ideal  that  each  state  should  have 
a  separate  synod,  and  then  that  these  synods  should  combine  in 
one  general  organization.  The  organization  for  local  adminis¬ 
tration  is  one  thing,  but  the  Lutheran  ministry  throughout 
North  America,  as  an  organism,  he  regards  as  one  ministry.  In 
its  sympathies  and  its  prayers  and  its  activities,  his  ideal  makes 
it  world-wide,  although  of  course  recognizing  a  more  immediate 
call  to  a  certain  specific  field  (North  America)  within  which  it 
moves  on  broad  continental  lines.  The  nearest  realization  of 
that  ideal  is  found  in  the  constitution  of  the  United  Lutheran 
Church  in  America. " 

Nor  did  the  constitution  framed  in  Muhlenberg’s  life  have 
the  limitation  of  language  which  occurred  in  1792,  when  the 
title  became  “The  German  Evangelical  Lutheran  Ministerium 
of  Pennsylvania  and  Adjacent  States.”  Previously  the  fathers 
had  in  mind  the  inclusion  of  Swedish  and  possibly  of  Dutch, 
and  even  of  English-speaking  Lutherans  as  well  as  of  Germans. 
They  were  contemplating  the  obliteration  of  all  national  and 
racial  distinctions  in  a  land  into  which  Lutherans  of  many 
lands  and  languages  were  beginning  to  pour.  They  had  heard 
the  call  to  testify  to  their  faith  in  whatever  language  they 
would  find  a  hearing.  The  example  had  been  set  by  Muhlen¬ 
berg,  when,  in  his  voyage  to  America  he  preached  to  his  fellow- 
passengers  in  the  English  language ;  when,  on  reaching  the 
southern  coast,  he  preached  in  English  to  the  slaves  in  Charles¬ 
ton ;  as  well  as  afterwards  in  his  summer  pastorate  in  New 
York  City,  where  every  Sunday  he  preached  in  German,  in 
Dutch,  and  in  English. 


3  Witness  the  Preamble  to  its  Constitution : 

“We,  members  of  Evangelical  Lutheran  congregations  in  America, 
associated  in  Evangelical  Lutheran  Synods,  recognizing  our  duty  as 
people  of  God,  to  make  the  inner  unity  which  we  have  with  one  another 
manifest  in  the  common  confession,  defense  and  maintenance  of  our 
faith  *****  hereby  invite  and,  until  such  end  be  attained,  continue 
to  invite  all  Evangelical  Lutheran  Congregations  and  synods  in  America, 
one  with  us  in  the  faith,  to  unite  with  us,  upon  the  terms  of  this  Consti¬ 
tution,  in  one  general  organization,  to  be  known  as  THE  UNITED 
LUTHERAN  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA—” 


Appendix 


321 


synods  from  which  we  have  heard  this  afternoon.  But  there 
was  one  feature  which  offsets  this,  and  that  is,  the  falling  away 
from  the  ideals  of  the  founders  in  the  action  taken  concerning 
the  use  of  the  English  language.  The  principal  resolution,  alas, 
unanimously  adopted,  reads:  “That  the  present  Lutheran  Min- 
isterium  must  remain  a  German-speaking  Ministerium,  and 
no  arrangement  can  be  accepted  which  necessitates  the  use  of 
any  other  language  alongside  of  the  German  in  its  synodical 
meetings  and  transactions.”  This  resolution  cannot  be  ex¬ 
plained  as  arising  from  any  antipathy  to  the  new  nation  in  the 
struggle  for  whose  independence  and  firm  establishment  our 
people  had  taken  a  prominent  part.  They  were  Americans  of 
Americans.  To  the  shores  on  which  they  had  already  been  well- 
rooted,  they  would  have  been  glad  to  have  transplanted  what¬ 
ever  was  best  in  the  land  of  their  fathers,  among  which  was 
the  language  in  which  they  knew  well  their  Bible  and  Cate¬ 
chism;  but  they  rejoiced  too  greatly  in  the  new  freedom  they 
enjoyed,  and  the  prosperity  which  followed  their  toils  on  this 
fresh  soil,  to  have  any  thought  of  a  return  to  former  condi¬ 
tions.  It  was  rather  an  expression  of  annoyance  with  the  agi¬ 
tation  of  a  question  for  which  they  then  felt  themselves  at  the 
time  unprepared.  Nevertheless,  it  seems  very  strange  that  such 
action  should  have  been  passed  only  ten  days  after  Whit¬ 
sunday,  when  in  all  their  churches  the  endowment  of  many 
tongues  in  which  to  declare  the  wonderful  works  of  God  had 
been  celebrated  as  the  blessed  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the 
Church.  The  action  was  broadcasted  in  circulars,  of  which  we 
have  found  large  bundles  of  unused  copies ;  and  on  its  author¬ 
ity,  the  young  pastor  who  attempted  to  speak  in  English  on  the 
floor  of  this  venerable  body,  was  often  called  down  for  an  in¬ 
fraction  of  its  order. 

For  the  moment,  the  result  was  that  the  growing  life  of 
the  Church  which  had  marked  the  Philadelphia  meeting  of  1748 
began  to  flow  in  two  different  streams.  The  “Evangelical  Luth¬ 
eran  Ministerium  of  North  America”  could  not  be  compressed 
into  the  moulds  of  the  “German  Evangelical  Lutheran  Minis¬ 
terium  of  Pennsylvania  and  Adjacent  States.”  If  the  continuity 
of  the  Church  consists  in  fidelity  to  the  faith  and  confession  of 
its  founders,  then  the  body  founded  in  1748  continued  and 


322 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 


consolations  of  the  Gospel  to  the  sick  and  the  dying,  the  afflicted 
and  the  distressed.  Methinks  I  see  him  now,  walking  the 
streets  with  his  gold  headed  cane,  a  pattern  of  neatness  in  his 
dress,  a  perfect  gentieman  of  the  old  school  in  his  manners, 
bowing  politely  and  complacently  to  all  whom  he  met,  and 
smiling  benignantly  on  the  little  children  who  rejoiced  to  be 
recognized  by  the  good  doctor,  and  thought  they  had  much  to 
tell  their  parents  at  home,  for  they  could  say  that  they  had  met 
their  pastor  on  the  street  and  that  he  had  spoken  to  them  and 
had  laid  his  hands  on  their  head  and  blessed  them.”  5 

Such,  as  a  rule,  was  the  type  of  pastor  of  the  second  gen¬ 
eration  that  filled  the  pulpits  of  the  venerable  and  historical 
Churches  in  Philadelphia,  at  Reading,  Lancaster,  Easton,  Ger¬ 
mantown,  Harrisburg,  Pottstown,  Lebanon,  York,  Baltimore, 
Llagertown,  Frederick,  and  Winchester.  Others  cultivated  in 
the  same  spirit  the  laborious  country  parishes.  What  an  inspir¬ 
ing  list  is  that  of  the  Presidents,  happily  published  in  the  offi¬ 
cial  program  of  these  exercises.  As  a  result  of  their  fidelity, 
their  descendants,  with  those  of  the  people  whom  they  faith¬ 
fully  served,  are  found  among  the  most  esteemed  leaders  in 
professional  and  business  life,  and  most  influential  and  deeply 
interested  members  of  our  congregations.  They  would  repudi¬ 
ate  the  charge  of  lack  of  fidelity  to  the  Word  of  God  as  con¬ 
fessed  by  our  Church.  No  better  refutation,  however,  of  such 
charge  can  be  given,  than  the  readiness  with  which  the  children 
of  these  men  rose  to  the  occasion  when  the  opportunity  came 
for  them  to  give  their  testimony.  The  ideals  outlined  in  1748 
and  1781  never  were  forgotten. 

At  the  Fifty-eighth  Convention,  in  Germantown  in  1805, 
a  new  life  was  stirring.  There  was  a  decided  forward  move¬ 
ment.  A  systematic  effort  was  inaugurated  to  secure  and  sup¬ 
port  candidates  for  the  ministry.  Six  home  missionaries  were 
elected  from  among  the  pastors,  and  assigned  circuits  in  the 
distant  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  on  the  frontiers  of  Tennes¬ 
see,  Virginia,  and  Ohio,  whence  have  sprung  some  of  the 

5  These  are  the  words  of  Doctor  William  R.  DeWitt,  of  Harrisburg, 
concerning  Doctor  George  Lochman,  President  of  this  Ministerium  from 
1816  to  1819,  and  one  of  its  regularly  elected  theological  instructors. 
Sprague’s  “Annals  of  the  American  Lutheran  Church,  Philadelphia, 
1869,  pp.  112  sq. 


Appendix 


323 


Neither  of  the  earlier  constitutions  provided  for  the  admis¬ 
sion  of  congregations.  Delegates  from  all  congregations  cared 
for  by  pastors  of  the  Ministerium  were  admitted  to  the  sessions. 
It  was  only  near  the  middle  of  the  last  century  that  congrega¬ 
tions  were  enrolled,  upon  their  own  application  for  such  priv¬ 
ilege. 

The  second  constitution  (1792)/  while  more  practical  as 
a  purely  business  document,  manifests  a  falling  away  from 
the  constructive  idealism  of  Muhlenberg  and  his  associates.  In 
trying  to  adapt  the  organized  Church  to  existing  conditions,  it 
not  only  omits  the  confessional  obligation,  but  has  surrendered 
its  universalistic  standards,  and  has  in  view  the  restriction  of 
the  Ministerium  to  narrow  limits.  There  is  very  scant  evidence, 
however,  to  support  the  charge  sometimes  made  that  there  has 
ever  been  in  this  Ministerium  a  strong  rationalistic  spirit,  and 
that  the  Constitution  of  1792  was  one  of  its  fruits.  The  con¬ 
structive  idealism  of  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg,  indeed, 
fades  as  time  advances,  but  does  not  entirely  vanish.  There  lies 
before  us  a  well-drawn  pen  picture  which  an  eminent  Presby¬ 
terian  clergyman  has  drawn  of  one  of  the  earlier  presidents  of 
the  Ministerium.  Of  this  I  shall  quote  only  a  few  sentences. 
“There  was  in  his  character  a  child-like  simplicity,  combined 
with  unmeasured  kindness  of  heart,  which  nothing  could  dis¬ 
turb  except  some  invasion  of  what  he  esteemed  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  the  good  old  Lutheran  Church,  for  which  he  en¬ 
tertained  an  affection  next  in  strength  and  devotion  to  that  he 
felt  for  his  divine  Master.  I  do  not  mean  to  intimate  that  he 
was  a  bigot.  Nothing  could  be  farther  from  his  nature.  But  the 
Lutheran  Church— the  great  Lutheran  Church — lay  very  near 
his  heart.  Its  founder — the  great  Reformer — its  glorious  his¬ 
tory,  its  precious  memories,  his  own  religious  education  and 
experience  identified  with  it,  and  his  long  devotion  to  its  wel¬ 
fare,  rendered  it  in  his  estimation  the  Church  that  Christ  loved. 
As  a  pastor  he  was  indefatigable.  Storm  or  sunshine,  cold  or 
heat,  day  or  night,  he  was  ever  ready  to  go  and  administer  the 

*  As  the  Articles  of  Confederation  of  the  Colonies  of  1781  was 
followed  by  the  Federal  Constitution  of  1787,  so  the  Ministerium’s 
Constitution  of  1781  was  followed  by  that  of  1792.  It  was  an  era  of 
Constitution  making. 


324 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 


still  continues  its  existence  beneath  all  the  many  synods  which 
for  administrative  purposes  have  from  time  to  time  separated 
from  the  corporation  of  the  mother  synod.  This,  then,  is  the 
jubilee  not  simply  of  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania,  but  of 
the  whole  Ministerium  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of 
North  America. 

Without  any  ill-feeling,  the  younger  men  of  the  Church, 
sons  of  former  presidents  of  the  Ministerium  and  others  closely 
connected  with  them,  men  who  had  been  educated  in  Ameri¬ 
can  institutions  and  were  longing  for  activity  in  behalf  of  the 
cause  to  which  they  had  devoted  their  lives,  now  made  their 
influence  felt.  One  of  the  fruits  of  this  activity  was  the  estab¬ 
lishment  in  1820  of  the  General  Synod,  which  the  progressives, 
by  an  overwhelming  majority,  actually  persuaded  the  Minis¬ 
terium  of  Pennsylvania  to  undertake,  but  from  which  a  strong 
conservative  reaction  three  years  later  forced  the  Ministerium 
to  withdraw.  Previous  to  this,  however  other  movements  had 
been  in  progress.  In  Philadelphia  itself,  a  Muhlenberg  again 
led  the  way.  The  appeal  of  General  Peter  Muhlenberg  to  the 
Church  in  Philadelphia,  both  as  a  confession  of  unswerving 
fidelity  to  the  Lutheran  faith,  and  a  serious  call  to  meet  the  new 
responsibilities  of  the  hour,  was  worthy  of  his  father.  The 
founding  of  St.  John’s  Church  in  1806  was  a  monument  that 
declares  in  a  fitting  way  that  a  field  of  labor  for  our  Church  was 
in  the  English  as  well  as  in  other  languages.  Further  south,  in 
1820,  right  at  the  center  of  the  population  of  the  United  States, 
when  the  emigration  to  the  Great  West  had  begun,  and,  with 
the  routes  by  way  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  practically 
unopened,  that  by  way  of  Baltimore  was  thronged  with  the 
wagons  of  immigrants  carrying  countless  numbers  of  our  people 
to  their  future  homes,  an  enterprising  band  of  younger  minis¬ 
ters  undertook,  in  a  quiet  and  orderly  way,  and  with  the  consent 
of  the  parent  Body,  to  found  the  Synod  of  Maryland  and  Vir¬ 
ginia.  upon  the  basis  of  the  Unaltered  Augsburg  Confession — 
an  unfortunate  omission  in  the  Constitution  of  “The  German 
Evangelical  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania  and  Adjacent  States” 
— and  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  organization  of  various  de¬ 
partments  of  Church  work  on  lines  continued  until  today.  Balti¬ 
more.  which  had  become  a  trade-center  for  a  number  of  the 


Appendix 


325 


counties  of  Southern  Pennsylvania,  was  at  the  same  time  the 
gate-way  to  the  West.  Outstripping  Philadelphia  temporarily, 
she  was  enrolled  on  the  Census  report  as  the  second  city  of  the 
land,  having  doubled  its  population  within  a  decade.  This  very 
naturally  became  the  center  of  the  General  Synod’s  life,  the 
seat  of  its  Home  Mission  organization,  Publication  House  and 
Church  paper.  The  names’  of  Schaeffer,  and  Krauth  and 
Schmucker  and  Keller  and  Heyer  and  Kurtz,  to  which  shortly 
afterwards  was  added  that  of  the  energetic  and  versatile  Mor¬ 
ris,  show  that  some  of  the  most  promising  sons  of  the  leaders 
in  the  elder  Body  had  been  sent  across  the  border,  partly  to 
carry  across  the  traditions  of  this  historic  synod,  and  partly  to 
undertake  responsibilities,  for  which  the  Ministerium,  as  then 
organized,  felt  itself  unequal.  When  there  was  a  general  for¬ 
ward  movement  in  the  various  Christian  communions  all  around 
them — for  this  was  the  period  of  the  founding  of  the  Amer¬ 
ican  Sunday  School  Union,  The  American  Bible  Society,  The 
American  Tract  Society,  etc.,  what  was  more  natural  than, 
by  this  means,  to  find  an  outlet  for  a  zeal  that  was  burning 
for  general  religious  work  within  the  channels  of  the  Lutheran 
Church?  Between  them  and  the  more  progressive  pastors  re¬ 
maining  in  the  Ministerium,  there  were  no  antagonisms,  but 
much  cordial  cooperation.  They  recognized  each  other  as  dif¬ 
ferent  sections  of  the  same  Church,  with  common  interests,  and 
separated  only  for  purposes  of  administration.  There  was  no 
great  gulf  fixed  preventing  the  transfer  from  one  to  the  other. 
The  institutions  at  Gettysburg,  both  literary  and  theological, 
were  not  only  largely  patronized  by  the  Ministerium,  but  for  a 
time  manned  entirely  by  Professors,  who  had  been  born  and 
baptized  in  the  Mother  Synod.  For  such  were  Drs.  Muhlen¬ 
berg  and  Stoever  and  Baugher  (Eager)  and  Schaeffer — all  de¬ 
scendants  of  Henry  Melchior  Muhlenberg  or  his  cotemporaries 
in  the  ministry,— as  well  as  Dr.  Charles  Philip  Krauth,  son 
of  an  organist  and  parochial  school  teacher  of  the  mother 
church  in  Philadelphia,  and  Dr.  Michael  Jacobs,  son  of 
an  officer  of  an  eighteenth  century  congregation  on  the  Mary¬ 
land  border,  bearing  the  name  of  his  family.  The  Gettysburg 
Seminary,  from  which  the  College  sprang,  originated  in  a  group 
of  candidates  for  the  ministry,  who  gathered  around  one  of 


326 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 


these  youthful  pastors,  a  son  of  this  Ministerium  as  well  as  of 
one  of  its  former  Presidents,  Dr.  S.  S.  Schmucker,  in  the  Shen¬ 
andoah  Valley.  The  Gettysburg  Seminary  actually  began  at  New 
Market,  Va.,  but  was  transferred  across  the  Mason  and  Dixon 
Line,  largely  in  order  to  gain  the  patronage  of  the  Churches 
in  Pennsylvania.  In  due  time,  this  Ministerium,  three  years 
before  its  union  with  the  General  Synod,  transferred  from  Lan¬ 
caster  to  Gettysburg  its  financial  interest  in  Franklin  College. 
Founding  with  it  the  Franklin  Professorship  in  Pennsylvania 
College,  this  chair  was  filled,  after  confirmation  of  the  nomina¬ 
tion  of  the  Ministerium,  first,  from  1850-67,  by  Dr.  F.  A. 
Muhlenberg  and,  from  1870-83  by  the  writer.  To  this  was 
added  a  second  Professorship  in  both  institutions  filled  1857- 
64  by  Dr.  C.  F.  Schaeffer,  the  first  Chairman  of  the  Faculty  of 
the  Philadelphia  Seminary. 

Just  as  sons  of  this  Ministerium  organized  the  General 
Synod  and  its  various  activities,  including  the  Gettysburg  in¬ 
stitutions,  so  sons  of  the  Gettysburg  institutions,  some  of  them 
sons  of  Professors,  were  the  chief  factors  in  inaugurating  a 
new  order  in  this  Ministerium  and  in  founding  the  General 
Council.  A  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  first  group  of  young 
men  were  preparing  in  the  mountains  of  Virginia  to  do  the 
Lutheran  Church  of  America  efficient  service  in  the  North,  a 
second  generation  were  brought  by  an  overruling  Providence 
from  the  institutions  at  Gettysburg,  to  prepare  under  the 
shadow  of  the  same  mountains  a  new  movement  in  the  same 
North.  A  second  Krauth,  a  second  or  rather  a  third  Schmucker, 
a  Seiss  from  Maryland,  to  whom  was  in  time  added  from  the 
Western  border  of  the  state,  a  Passavant  in  Baltimore,  des¬ 
tined  with  almost  apostolic  zeal  to  devote  his  life  to  Home 
and  Inner  Missions,  had  no  thought  of  any  other  ministry 
than  that  of  the  General  Synod,  of  which  they  were  devoted 
sons.  The  first  two  brought  with  them  a  certain  amount  of 
intellectual  equipment  and  literary  apparatus,  with  which  they 
sought  in  the  isolation  and  retirement  of  their  quiet  parishes 
to  ground  themselves  more  thoroughly  in  their  studies  and  to 
reach  a  solution  of  problems  which  they  were  too  painfully 
aware  that  they  had  not  yet  mastered.  Like  their  predecessors 
of  the  preceding  generation,  the  sons  of  the  Gettysburg  theo- 


Appendix 


327 


logians  were  near  each  other  locally  and  profited  by  mutual 
assistance.  They  gathered  the  literature  which  their  meagre 
salaries  could  afford,  Krauth  laying  the  foundation  of  his  sub¬ 
sequent  theological  attainments  by  his  mastery  of  the  classics 
of  Lutheran  Theology,  and  Schmucker,  as  early  as  1848,  toiling 
on  some  of  the  liturgical  material,  that  underlies  the  present 
Service  Book  of  the  United  Lutheran  Church. 

The  result  was  that  their  names  live  in  the  history  of  the 
Church  in  connection  with  this  Ministerium  and  the  Philadel¬ 
phia  Seminary,  just  as  the  names  of  their  predecessors  were 
given  by  the  Ministerium  to  the  General  Synod  and  its  various 
agencies.  As  the  Ministerium  in  one  generation  gave  birth  to 
the  General  Synod,  so  the  new  life  which  quickened  this  Min¬ 
isterium  since  the  middle  of  the  XIX  century,  giving  to  our 
people  the  Church  Book,  sending  Heyer  to  India,  with  all  that 
that  meant,  laying  the  foundation  of  the  Home  Missionary 
Work,  establishing  the  Philadelphia  Seminary  and  its  daugh¬ 
ters,  and  Muhlenberg  and  Thiel  Colleges,  furnishing  the  Church 
with  the  foundation  of  a  solid  Lutheran  literature,  not  to  speak 
of  all  that  the  fifty  years  of  the  General  Council  stood  for, 
came,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  in  large  measure  through  the 
General  Synod.  All  this  can  be  freely  said  without  ignoring 
the  eminent  services  of  two  of  your  former  Presidents  not 
of  this  group,  Drs.  William  Julius  Mann  and  Adolph  Spaeth, 
whose  personal  piety,  and  popular  gifts,  supplemented  by  thor¬ 
ough  German  university  training,  historical  tastes,  wide  ac¬ 
quaintance  with  European  conditions  and  incessant  literary 
activities,  were  given  to  the  working  out  of  problems  confront¬ 
ing  the  Lutheran  Church  of  the  land  of  their  adoption. 

Beneath  the  infirmities  and  errors  of  both  Bodies,  the 
ideals  and  principles  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Ministerium 
of  1748  are  clearly  traceable.  Thus  Providence  controls  and 
counterbalances  all  great  movements  in  the  Church.  The  cur¬ 
rent  of  life,  spiritual  and  churchly  was  continuous.  Beneath 
and  through  both  fields  it  ran,  now  sending  forth  streams 
within  the  one  and  then  within  the  other ;  now  almost  touching, 
and  then  joining.  Even  through  all  the  years  of  separation,  the 
one  could  not'  absolutely  disown  or  repudiate  the  other. 


328 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 


Not  that  synods  or  General  Bodies  or  Theological  Facul¬ 
ties  are  infallible — that  they  are  not  is  a  fundamental  Lutheran 
principle ;  not  that  the  resolutions  they  pass  or  the  precedents 
they  set  are  beyond  criticism.  (We  are  often  forced  to  recall 
Luther’s  words :  “Those  dear  fathers  lived  a  great  deal  better 
than  they  wrote.”)  Not  that  the  recognition  of  any  name  as 
entitled  to  gratitude  for  distinguished  service,  carries  with  it 
the  necessary  endorsement  of  every  position  of  which  the  bearer 
of  that  name  was  an  advocate.  The  scaffolding  within  which  a 
costly  structure  is  rising  always  offers  many  points  for  criticism 
from  one  whose  esthetic  tastes  clamor  for  recognition  at  every 
turn,  and  whose  eyes  are  blind  to  what  is  growing  up  within 
and  beneath  the  unsightly  frame;  he  has  to  be  reminded 
as  the  work  proceeds,  that  the  rough  and  inartistic  frame-work 
is  to  be  enlarged  and  repaired,  and  even  completely  torn  away 
to  meet  new  conditions.  It  is  enough  that  the  mind  and  purpose 
of  the  Great  Architect  is  approaching  completion,  and  that  the 
details,  as  accomplished,  correspond  with  the  Divine  plan. 

Entirely  incorrect  is  the  occasional  statement  that  the  con¬ 
fessional  reaction  of  the  last  century  within  our  Church  in 
America  came  from  the  influence  of  Wilhelm  Loehe  of  Neu- 
endettelsau  and  of  the  Missouri  emigration.  The  positive  tes¬ 
timony  given  from  these  sources  undoubtedly,  with  other  in¬ 
fluences  on  the  other  side  of  the  ocean  contributed  encourage¬ 
ment.  But  the  theological  development  of  the  last  one  hundred 
years  came  from  another  source.  That  the  Church  of  our 
fathers  in  America,  being  without  institutions  for  the  thorough 
training  of  candidates  for  the  ministry,  without  teachers  conse¬ 
crating  and  concentrating  their  time  and  energies  to  the  cul¬ 
tivation  of  Christian  scholarship,  even  though  the  prophecy  of 
what  was  to  come  was  apparent,  and  without  an  adequate  lit¬ 
erature  in  the  English  language,  for  a  time  betrayed  many  in¬ 
consistencies  with  sound  Lutheran  teaching,  both  within  the 
Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  General  Synod,  cannot 
be  denied.  But  the  presence  within  these  bodies,  all  through 
the  periods  that  seemed  most  discouraging,  of  clear  and  faith¬ 
ful  preachers  and  confessors  of  the  most  decided  type  of  Luth¬ 
eranism,  can  be  most  clearly  found  if  the  trouble  to  make  the 
investigation  be  taken.  Even  before  either  Loehe  (b.  1808) 


Appendix 


329 


or  Walther  (b.  1812)  was  heard  of,  the  indefatigable  home 
missionary  of  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania,  Paul  Henkel, 
(b.  1754),  was  traversing  three  or  four  states,  and  everywhere 
sounding  the  note  of  an  uncompromising  Lutheranism.  In 
the  most  humble  parishes,  the  people  were  faithfully  instructed 
concerning  the  Way  of  Salvation  as  our  Church  teaches  it.  They 
knew  the  Lutheran  doctrine  of  the  Sacraments,  they  knew 
Luther’s  Catechism,  they  knew  the  old  hymns  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  and  its  best  devotional  literature.  Even  though  every 
pastor  should  have  proved  false  to  the  faith  of  the  Confes¬ 
sions,  out  of  the  families  where  the  father  diligently  taught 
his  children,  as  the  Catechism  prescribes,  or  where  the  religious 
life  was  intense,  and  illustrated  its  inner  Lutheran  type,  not 
only  by  word  but  also  by  the  prevailing  devotional  spirit  of 
the  parents,  another  generation  of  ministers  would  have  arisen 
to  raise  the  standard  which  had  fallen  and  to  recall  the  Church 
to  the  cause  which  seemed  to  be  declining.  We  are  drawing 
no  imaginary  picture,  we  are  dealing  not  with  fiction,  but  with 
facts.  We  can  furnish  the  evidence  also ;  for  the  books  of  the 
old  pastors  transferred  to  the  libraries  of  our  seminaries  show 
not  only  that  the  Confessions  of  the  Church  but  also  the  classics 
of  Lutheran  theology  were  at  hand,  and  that,  too,  not  simply 
as  heirlooms  and  curiosities,  but  with  abundant  evidence  on 
their  pages  of  the  diligent  use  their  owners  bad  made  of  them. 

Standing  in  Independence  Hall  on  his  way  to  be  inaugu¬ 
rated  as  President  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  Lincoln  stated  in 
substance  that  he  had  often  inquired  of  himself  “What  great 
principle  or  idea  it  was  that  kept  this  Confederacy  so  long  to¬ 
gether.  It  was  not  the  mere  matter  of  separation  of  the  colo¬ 
nies  from  the  motherland,  but  that  sentiment  in  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  which  gave  liberty  not  alone  to  the  people  of 
this  country,  but  hope  to  all  the  world,  for  all  future  time.”  So, 
in  asking,  concerning  this  Ministerium,  this  same  question; 
What  has  been  the  secret  of  its  cohesion  and  its  influence  during 
more  than  twice  the  number  of  years  of  the  life  of  the  nation 
when  Mr.  Lincoln  spoke,  we  must  find  the  answer,  like  that 
given  by  our  great  President  for  the  preservation  of  the  nation 
as  being  not  on  the  negative  side,  not  in  its  sharp  lines  of 
separation  from  others,  in  any  asserted  or  actual,  any  misrepre- 


330 


Trinity,  Reading ,  A.  D.  1923 


sented  or  real  exclusivism,  but  in  the  positive  and  aggressive 
spiritual  power  which  it  has  exerted.  In  spite  of  all  the 
torpor  and  inertness  with  which  it  has  been  charged,  it  has 
been  a  reservoir  of  latent  forces  with  far-reaching  and  widely 
ramifying  channels,  through  which  most  effective,  though 
mostly  silent,  influences  have  been  continuously  transmitted. 
Even  its  isolation  for  so  many  years  was  not  an  unmixed  evil ; 
for  it  was  through  all  these  years  a  rallying  point  for  thousands 
of  people  to  whom  it  was  teaching  in  their  own  tongue  the 
pure  Gospel,  and  whom  it  saved  from  the  temptations  of  this 
life  and  prepared  for  the  life  to  come,  when  otherwise  they 
might  have  relapsed  into  a  state,  well-nigh  barbarism.  There 
are  church  statistics  which  never  can  be  reported  to  any  census 
bureau.  Today,  each  one  of  its  five  hundred  congregations  is 
a  nursery  of  children  of  God,  a  training  school  for  all  eternity. 
This  is  a  great  convention;  but  what  if  in  one  glance  we  could 
only  take  in  the  entire  body  of  people  it  comprises,  children  as 
well  as  adults,  and  consider  the  many  experiences  in  life  through 
which  the  Word  of  God  touches  them  in  the  ministrations 
of  the  Church.  Consider  what  this  great  commonwealth  is,  and 
what  the  nation  is,  because  of  the  silent  power  going  forth 
towards  them  by  all  the  churches  of  the  land ;  not  a  small  por¬ 
tion  of  which  comes  both  now  and  for  years  long  in  the  past 
has  come  from  this  Ministerium,  with  its  nearly  one  thousand 
communicant  members  for  every  year  of  its  existence. 

The  greatest  work  of  this  venerable  body  is  its  intensive 
dealing,  through  its  pastors  in  the  city  and  the  country,  with 
individuals,  a  truth  upon  which  the  ordination  sermon  preached 
on  that  warm  August  afternoon  in  1748  dwells,  the  text  of 
which  was  Ezekiel  33:8:  “When  I  say  unto  the  wicked,  thou 
shalt  surely  die,  if  thou  dost  not  speak  to  warn  the  wicked  from 
his  wav,  that  wicked  man  shall  die  in  his  iniquity,  hut  his  blood 
will  I  require  at  thine  hand.”  If  the  prayer  of  a  single  devout 
man,  as  Holv  Scripture  says,  availeth  much,  what  shall  be  said 
of  the  prayers  and  testimony  of  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
humble  souls  represented  by  this  body  for  well-nigh  two  cen¬ 
turies  ? 

But  there  is  yet  one  word  we  must  add.  Without  it, 
an  important  factor  in  the  history  of  this  Ministerium  and  o'f 


Appendix 


331 


our  entire  Lutheran  Church  in  America  might  seem  to  have 
been  intentionally  suppressed.  Our  fathers  in  this  Ministerium 
owed  much  to  forms  of  Christianity,  most  of  them  entirely  new, 
which  had  preceded  them  to  these  shores.  The  Society  of 
Friends  invited  them  hither,  persuaded  them  to  come,  and  wel¬ 
comed  them  with  open  arms.  The  Pilgrim  Fathers  and  the 
Puritans  led  the  way  in  breaking  from  a  state  church  and  es¬ 
tablishing  a  Christian  democracy  on  an  ideal  Christian  basis ; 
our  obligations  to  them  we  can  scarcely  overestimate.  The 
Presbyterians  set  a  high  standard  of  an  educated  ministry, 
and  an  intelligent  eldership;  their  church  organization  had  its 
influence  in  the  introduction  of  the  lay  eldership  into  our  con¬ 
gregations  and  scores  of  the  sons  of  our  congregations  were 
prepared  for  the  ministry  and  other  professions  in  the  church 
colleges  which,  in  advance  of  us,  they  had  the  enterprise  to 
found.  The  Swedish  Lutheran  pastors  carefully  nourished  the 
feeble  beginnings  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Philadelphia.  This 
Ministerium.  in  convention  assembled,  in  1763,  received  White- 
field  with  high  tokens  of  appreciation.  The  approaches  of  the 
German  Reformed  have  been  so  close,  that  there  were  times 
when  the  merger  of  the  two  bodies  seemed  almost  inevitable. 
Our  fathers  waged  no  war  with  other  Churches,  but  knew 
well,  both  as  Americans  and  as  Lutherans,  how  to  meet  with 
decision  those  who  treat  them  as  intruders,  or  class  them  with 
Dissenters  and  Non-Conformists  from  any  ecclesiastical  estab¬ 
lishment  on  a  foreign  shore,  whether  continental  or  insular. 
Waves  of  influences  from  these  sources  had  their  effect  upon 
all  concerned,  sometimes  to  our  strength,  sometimes  to  our 
weakness ;  as  we  also  have  made  like  contributions  of  both 
strength  and  weakness  to  other  communions.  Thousands  of 
non-Lutheran  ancestors  are  probably  represented  by  the  dele¬ 
gates  in  this  convention,  as  thousands  of  the  children  of  this 
Ministerium,  by  near  or  remote  descent,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  found  in  every  influential  religious  communion  around  us. 
We  hurl  at  them  no  “ Anathema  sit.”  or  “Damnamus,”  but  pray 
for  God’s  richest  blessing  upon  the  Gospel  so  far  as  it  is 
preached  among  them,  as  we  ask  their  prayers  for  us.  Christian 
fellowships  are  not  self-chosen;  they  are  not  established  by 
synodical  resolutions  or  constitutions — they  are  made  bv  the 


332 


Trinity,  Reading ,  A.  D.  1923 


presence  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  Himself.  Wherever  He 
dwells,  there  is  our  home.  It  is  His  will,  and  we  would  not 
have  it  otherwise.  At  every  turn  we  are  made  to  feeLthe  in¬ 
fluence  of  a  United  Christian  Church,  the  communion  of  saints, 
still  more  extensive  than  any  ideal  of  a  United  Lutheran  Min- 
isterium  we  can  frame. 

When  Columbus  first  touched  our  shores,  upon  them  he 
raised  the  cross,  the  symbol  not  of  a  sectarian  but  of  a  really 
Catholic,  all-embracing  Christianity.  At  the  very  moment  when 
this  cross  was  raised,  God  was  answering  the  prayer  which  this 
act  proclaimed.  At  Eisenach,  thousands  of  miles  across  the 
ocean,  He  was  preparing  a  little  school  boy,  eight  years  old,  to 
put  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  his  native  tongue  into  the  hands 
of  every  man,  and  thus  to  plant  that  cross  in  every  human  heart. 
He  was  starting  the  movement  to  carry  to  America,  as  its  only 
hope,  the  open  Bible  with  its  word  of  life,  “Look  unto  me,  and 
he  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the  earth,”  (Isaiah  45:22);  “And 
I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me.”  (John  12:  32). 

Subordinating  all  abstract  theological  problems,  averse  to 
all  mingling  of  philosophy  with  theology,  we  embody  in  our 
testimony  the  concrete  realities  celebrated  in  the  Church  Year 
— the  Christ  of  Christmas,  true  God,  begotten  of  the  Father 
from  all  eternity,  and  also  true  man,  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary 
■ — the  Christ  of  Epiphany,  the  revelation  of  God’s  glory  in  the 
grace  and  truth  of  the  Son  of  Man — the  Christ  of  the  Passion 
season,  true  God  bearing  the  burden  of  man’s  sin  and  dying 
on  Calvary — the  Christ  of  Easter,  triumphing  over  sin  and 
death — the  Christ  of  Ascension-tide,  sitting  on  the  right  hand 
of  the  Father,  so  that  Man,  with  God  now  rules  the  world  and 
shapes  its  history — the  Christ  of  Whitsuntide,  living  through 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  hearts  of  individuals  and  in  the  assem¬ 
blies  of  His  people.  We  offer  to  America  and  to  the  world 
the  entire  Bible,  as  the  record  of  God’s  unerring  revelation — 
not  the  Bible  of  the  destructive  critics,  from  Thomas  Jefferson 
to  the  manufacturers  of  the  Polychrome  Bible,  but  the  Bible  as 
brought  to  America  by  the  founders  of  this  nation — the  whole 
Bible  upon  which  every  President  of  the  United  States  takes 
his  oath  of  office — the  whole  Bible  as  reverently  laid  in  the 
corner  stones  of  our  churches  and  other  religious  institutions, 


A  ppendix 


333 


of  which  every  word,  in  its  proper  time  and  place,  is  needful 
for  the  interpretation  and  emphasis  of  what  is  central — one  or¬ 
ganic  whole  with  Christ  as  the  center  of  its  center. 

“This  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  our 
faith.  Who  is  he  that  overcometh  the  world,  but  he  that  be- 
lieveth  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God!” 


Appendix 

i 


335 


Appendix  III 

LUTHERANS  AND  LUTHERANISM  IN  PENN¬ 
SYLVANIA 

By  the  Hon.  Harry  D.  Schaeffer,  President  Judge  of  the  Orphans' 

Court  of  Berks  County. 

W  hen  Doctor  Piatteicher  extended  to  me  the  kind  invitation 
to  join  you  in  celebrating  what  may  truly  be  regarded  as  an  epochal 
event  in  the  history  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  he  said  he  was  desirous 
to  have  a  word  of  greeting  and  a  few  impressions  of  the  history  and 
accomplishments  of  your  Church  from  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
Church,  and  that  Doctor  W7eller  and  he  had  selected  me  to  per¬ 
form  this  pleasant  duty.  Not  many  years  ago,  when  a  strong  de¬ 
nominational  competition  was  the  bane  of  the  Christian  Church, 
it  was  considered  as  passing  strange  for  a  member  of  the  Reformed 
Church  to  extol  on  a  public  occasion  the  polity  and  excellence  of  the 
Lutheran  Church,  or  vice  versa ;  and  consequently,  it  is  a  very  happy 
omen  when  men  can  rise  above  creed  and  dogma,  shelve  their  theo¬ 
logical  differences,  and  recognize  the  unity  of  purpose  and  the 
spirit  of  fellowship  which  should  control  and  animate  all  Christian 
believers. 

I  am,  therefore,  very  glad  to  bring  you  the  greetings  of  the 
Reformed  Church,  your  sister  denomination,  and  also  the  joyous 
greetings  of  the  citizens  of  the  county  of  Berks,  who  have  a  deep 
and  vital  interest  in  the  history  and  traditions  of  this  Synod.  ^  ou 
have  honored  our  city  by  selecting  it  as  the  place  for  the  observance 
of  the  celebration  of  the  175th  anniversary  of  the  Ministerium  of 
Pennsylvania,  which  is  not  only  a  splendid  tribute  to  the  beauty 
and  importance  of  our  city  and  county,  but  also  a  most  proper  and 
fitting  selection,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  city  of  Reading  is  on 
the  eve  of  celebrating  its  175th  anniversary  in  a  suitable  and  credit¬ 
able  manner.  It  was,  indeed,  a  happy  thought  which  suggested  the 
observance  of  your  anniversary  here,  because  the  history  of  the 
Lutheran  denomination  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania  is  closely  inter¬ 
woven  Avith  the  life  and  progress  of  our  city  since  its  very  begin¬ 
ning,  Avhen  the  Lutheran  and  Reformed  pioneers  were  gathered 
around  its  very  birth  scenes. 

The  Lutheran  Church  in  the  United  States,  Avhich  has  a  noble 
and  honorable  lineage,  is  one  of  the  oldest  denominations  in  Protest¬ 
antism.  It  had  its  distinct  origin  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation  in 
1517,  AA’hen  the  mighty  Luther,  with  Zwingli  and  others,  protested 
against  the  abuses  and  corruption  of  the  church,  and  launched  that 
significent  mo\rement  which  is  knorvn  in  history  as  the  Reformation. 

The  historv  of  the  Lutherans  in  the  eighteenth  century  from 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  I9li 


336 

1708  on,  when  pioneer  Lutherans  began  to  come  from  the  Palatinate 
with  the  Reformed  pioneers  in  considerable  numbers,  centers  prin¬ 
cipally  in  Pennsylvania,  where  Henry  Melchoir  Muhlenberg,  the 
patriarch  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  the  father  of  this  Synod,  who 
arrived  in  Philadelphia  on  November  25,  1742,  with  his  co-wOrkers, 
laid  deep  the  foundations  of  a  work  that  has  blessed  this  Common¬ 
wealth.  With  Pennsylvania  as  the  center  and  trom  the  quaint  little 
church  at  the  Trappe,  the  cradle  of  Lutheranism  in  America,  he 
made  extensive  missionary  journeys  into  the  provinces,  founded  con¬ 
gregations,  encouraged  those  already  established  and  obtained  min¬ 
isters  for  them.  He  was  the  founder  and  presiding  officer  of  the 
M  inisterium  of  Pennsylvania,  which  began  in  Philadelphia  on  Au¬ 
gust  23,  1748,  the  event  you  are  now  celebrating  and  which  has 
been  called  the  most  important  event  in  the  history  of  the  American 
Lutheran  Church  of  the  18th  century.  This  historic  Ministerium, 
known  as  the  mother  of  the  Lutheran  synods,  was  the  nucleus  from 
which  grew  a  denominational  life  that  extended  beyond  Pennsyl¬ 
vania  into  every  part  of  our  country,  until  the  Lutheran  Church, 
with  a  membership  of  about  three  millions,  has  now  become  one 
of  the  first  four  Protestant  churches  in  the  United  States.  It  was 
in  Pennsylvania  that  the  heroic  Muhlenbergs,  with  the  other  leaders, 
gave  birth  and  impetus  to  a  religious  movement  that  has  given  form 
and  direction  to  the  moral  and  political  life  of  this  Commonwealth 
which  cannot  be  justly  estimated. 

The  eastern  portion  of  Pennsylvania,  including  our  very  city  and 
county,  with  its  historic  congregations  like  Trinity,  established  in 
1748;  Zion’s  (Marion),  1727;  Bernville,  1 730 ;  Tulpehocken,  1730; 
Moselem,  1734;  Alsace,  1737;  Stouchsbrug,  1743;  Hill,  1741;  and 
Rockland,  1743,  where  my  mother  was  confirmed,  is  particularly 
indebted  to  the  Lutheran  Church,  because  its  moral  life  and  political 
development  were  nurtured  and  sustained  by  the  fructifying  streams 
that  flowed  from  the  heart  of  Lutheranism.  Indeed,  the  Lutheran 
and  Reformed  churches  in  this  section,  whose  history  runs  parallel 
and  is  closely  connected,  have  not  only  been  the  pathbreakers  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty,  but  the  very  guardians  of  those  spiritual 
resources  and  civic  virtues  which  have  made  us  a  happy  and  pro¬ 
gressive  people. 

These  verdant  hills  and  valleys,  these  fertile  fields,  our  splendid 
and  productive  farms,  the  beautiful  and  happy  homes,  the  large  and 
varied  industries,  the  schools  and  the  churches,  which  are  the  pride 
and  glory  of  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  reflect  the  industry,  thrift  and 
spiritual  ideals  of  a  people  whose  life  and  development  were  in 
no  small  degree  influenced  and  determined  by  the  Teachings  and 
inspiration  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

From  the  early  days  of  the  republic  in  1776,  when  Gen.  Peter 
Muhlenberg,  the  picturesque  preacher-warrior,  made  the  dramatic 
announcement  of  his  intention  to  leave  the  pulpit  and  fight  for  his 
country,  to  the  present,  the  Lutheran  Church  has  been  a  staunch 


■1  ppendix 


337 


defender  and  a  fearless  advocate  of  the  rights  and  principles  which 
constitute  the  bed-rock  of  American  institutions.  1  hat  it  has  al¬ 
ways  been  a  firm  believer  in,  and  an  ardent  supporter  of  repre¬ 
sentative  government,  and  of  constitutional  liberty,  is  attested  by 
the  fact,  that  the  history  of  the  Commonwealth  is  replete  with  the 
names  and  achievements  of  men  of  the  Lutheran  faith,  who  made 
invaluable  contributions  to  the  formation  and  development  of  con¬ 
stitutional  government. 

It  would  doubtless  be  interesting  and  instructive  to  recall  some 
of  these  names  and  the  movements  with  which  they  are  linked,  but 
time  forbids,  and  I  must  be  content  with  a  brief  reference  to  one  of 
your  laymen,  who,  by  reason  of  his  deep  devotion  to  the  law  and 
his  sterling  character,  has  been  an  outstanding  figure  in  this  com¬ 
munity  for  thirty-five  years.  This  layman,  who  lias  honored  your 
Church  and  this  County,  is  President  Judge  Endlich,  wtho  has 
presided  in  our  courts  for  over  30  years  with  such  marked  ability, 
great  learning  and  scholarly  knowledge  of  the  law,  that  he  is  to¬ 
day  regarded  as  one  of  the  great  judges  of  Pennsylvania.  My 
friends,  this  just  and  learned  judge,  this  scholarly  and  cultured 
gentleman,  this  esteemed  citizen,  has  rendered  a  deep  and  lasting 
service  to  the  law  and  our  people. 

The  influence  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  which  has  always  stood 
for  Christianity  as  interpreted  by  Martin  Luther  and  taught  in 
the  Augsburg  confession,  is  in  no  small  degree  due  to  the  fact  that 
it  is  conservative  in  its  theological  views,  well  poised  in  its  inter¬ 
pretation  of  the  Christian  life,  anti-fanatical  and  anti-rationalistic, 
and  makes  religion  a  matter  of  faith  solely.  In  its  worship  it  is 
liturgical,  dignified  and  churchly,  and  its  clergy,  which  is  well  edu¬ 
cated,  is  always  loyal  to  the  standards  of  the  Church. 

For  all  this  and  the  splendid  contributions  the  Lutheran  Church 
has  made  in  schools,  academies,  colleges,  theological  seminaries,  where 
the  youth  are  being  educated  and  sent  forth  into  a  life  of  service, 
for  the  great  moral  and  spiritual  power  it  has  been  in  this  Com¬ 
monwealth,  we  feel  deeply  grateful,  and  thus  rejoice  with  you  in  the 
celebration  of  that  historic  even  from  which  emanated  a  polity 
and  power  that  shaped  the  destiny  of  your  church  and  profoundly 
influenced  the  life  of  the  state  and  nation. 

I  congratulate  you  on  the  glorious  traditions  of  this  Synod,  your 
splendid  religious  heritage,  the  achievements  and  sacrifices  of  the 
great  leaders  of  the  Church,  and  the  intelligence  and  faithfulness 
of  a  consecrated  ministry. 

The  Lutheran  Church  has  an  honored  past,  filled  with  good 
works  and  splendid  accomplishments,  but  it  has  also  a  great  mission 
in  the  days  to  come,  when  its  leadership  will  in  large  measure  de¬ 
pend  upon  the  sanity,  the  intelligence  and  the  fearlessness  with  which 
it  meets  the  problems  of  the  hour.  It  is  well  for  all  of  us  to  re¬ 
member  that  men  are  impatient  of  creeds,  and  that  the  Church  must 
think  less  of  its  authority  and  more  of  the  simplicity,  the  power  and 


338 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 


the  liberty  of  the  gospel ;  less  of  dogmas  and  more  of  faith,  and 
remember  that  after  all  the  test  is  the  willingness,  the  determination 
to  come  and  follow  the  Master.  The  Church  that  will  offer  life, 
love,  strength  and  courage  to  meet  the  trials  and  duties  of  the  day, 
is  the  church  that  men  need  and  are  eagerly  seeking,  and  will 
support  with  their  time  and  money ;  because  every  thoughtful  man 
in  this  country  recognizes  this  great  truth,  that  all  we  have  that 
is  worth  while  and  worth  living  for  in  America,  is  due  to  the  schools 
and  churches  of  the  land,  and  that  the  future  of  our  homes,  the 
integrity  and  intelligence  of  our  citizenship,  the  glory  and  perman¬ 
ency  of  the  republic,  and  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  world,  are  all 
dependent  upon  Religion  and  Education,  which  have  been  the  twin 
pillars  of  national  stability  and  power  from  the  very  dawn  of  our 
history. 


Appendix 


339 


By  the  Rev.  F.  H.  Knnbel,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  President  of 
the  United  Lutheran  Church  in  America 

IT  was  requested  that  my  address  on  this  anniversary 
should  take  the  character  of  a  forward  look  for  the 
Pennsylvania  Ministerium  in  particular,  and  for  our 
Lutheran  Church  in  general.  The  subject  was  chosen  with 
that  idea  in  mind.  Some  will  recognize  that  the  title  has 
a  Scriptural  origin,  but  not  a  very  reputable  one  in  the 
Scriptures.  However,  any  contemplation  of  our  future 
must  include  the  question  as  to  what  kind  of  name,  of 
reputation,  we  shall  have  among  men  in  that  future.  Shall 
we  have  reached  men  with  our  message  at  that  time  more 
satisfactorily  than  at  present.  Thus  conceived,  the  title 
might  have  been  given  in  a  more  popular  and  commonplace 
form  as  "Getting  Our  Message  Across.”  That  is  exactly 
what  we  wish  to  see  accomplished  in  the  coming  days.  We 
are  convinced  that  we  have  a  message  of  profound  worth. 
We  long  to  see  its  powerful  lodgment  in  the  heart  of 
humanity.  In  such  an  accomplishment  we  would  have 
fulfilled  the  purpose  of  our  existence  and  would  have 
gained  an  honorable  Christian  name,  would  have  made  a 
right  name  for  ourselves. 

What  Means  “A  Lutheran  Christian?” 

How  shall  we  reach  that  goal?  How  shall  we  make  plain 
to  the  many  who  ask  what  it  means  to  be  a  Lutheran 
Christian?  What  answers  can  be  given  to  the  young  and 
the  old  who  puzzlingly  ask  us  why  certain  ideas  and 
methods  are  condemned  as  not  being  Lutheran?  Amid 
the  deafening  roar  of  the  world’s  noises  what  signal  can 
we  raise,  w’hat  clear  notes  can  we  sound,  which  will  arrest 
men’s  attention  to  listen  to  the  story  we  are  pledged  to  tell, 
the  story  which  will  charm  their  lives. 

In  plainest  language,  then,  my  address  becomes  a  talk 
on  Lutheran  publicity.  We  must  face  the  question  of 
publicity  in  the  fullest,  best  sense  as  we  face  the  future.  It 
is  a  word  with  which  men  juggle  today.  It  presents  con¬ 
trasts  of  startling  extremes.  On  the  one  hand  it  has 
behind  it  the  command  of  Christ  for  the  extension  of  His 
salvation.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  commercialized  into 
obtrusive  signs  which  ruin  beautiful  landscapes  and  make 
a  city’s  street  to  be  an  ugly,  blinding  “white  way.”  We 


340 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 


must  consequently  expect  to  find  evil  in  our  study  of  pub¬ 
licity,  but  we  must  seek  also  the  good.  We  must  become 
publicity  experts.  True  Lutheran  publicity  methods  must 
become  a  reality  with  us. 

Modern  publicity  is,  of  course,  entangled  with  the 
world’s  whole  life  today.  Its  methods  follow  the  spirit  of 
the  times.  A  genuine  examination  thereof  will  inevitably 
reveal  the  trends  in  the  world’s  life.  It  ought  to  uncover 
before  us  the  tendencies  which  are  swaying  men.  Our 
examination  of  the  facts  has  that  additional  attraction. 
We  shall  therefore  have  constantly  before  our  attention  a 
threefold  picture,  the  facts  as  to  present-day  publicity,  a 
glimpse  of  world  currents,  and  an  appreciation  of  what 
religious  publicity  ought  and  ought  not  be. 


Page  One  for  Calamities 

First  of  all,  we  readily  appreciate  that  destructive  facts 
constitute  a  large  element  in  the  news.  Calamities  and 
scandals  all  begin  on  the  first  page,  are  read  most  atten¬ 
tively  by  the  people,  and  linger  longest  as  the  days  pass. 
That  which  wastes  life  and  property  has  best  publicity 
value.  The  things  which  subtract  from  existence  attract 
men.  That  which  must  be  marked  with  a  minus  sign 
receives  most  attention.  The  negative  has  more  notice 
than  the  positive.  The  destructive  is  better  news  than  the 
constructive,  what  tears  down  is  better  than  what  builds 
up.  When  we  thus  face  the  undeniable,  naked  fact  our 
hearts  and  minds  naturally  revolt  from  it.  We  ask  our¬ 
selves  some  eager  questions.  Has  this  condition  in  the 
publicity  world  been  an  increasing  one?  Has  it  grown 
more  and  more  attentive  to  destructive  matters?  Exami¬ 
nation  within  our  own  lifetime  tells  us  it  has.  We  must 
then  question  further,  does  this  tendency  reveal  a  similar 
condition  in  the  world’s  life  as  a  whole.  Has  there  been  a 
decline  in  the  morality  of  mankind?  Sorrowfully,  we  must 
answer  yes. 

A  general  moral  lapse  has  taken  place.  Standards  have 
been  lowered.  Customary  restraints  have  weakened  if  not 
broken.  The  evidence  for  this  world  fact  is  in  the  posses¬ 
sion  of  most  Christians.  It  seems  to  be  the  common  con¬ 
fession  of  Christians  today  that  they  need  more  grace  than 
hitherto  in  order  to  live  upright  lives.  The  downward 
bent  in  us  seems  stronger  than  before.  However,  there 
are  other  manifest  proofs.  The  testimony  of  the  heads 
of  educational  institutions  is  unanimous  as  to  the  moral 
life  of  the  youth  of  today.  Sensuality  and  contempt  for 


Appendix 


341 


the  marriage  bond  are  commonplaces  in  the  social  situa¬ 
tion.  The  day  of  the  brigand,  of  the  bandit,  seems  to 
have  returned,  whether  one  looks  at  China  or  at  the  streets 
of  American  cities.  All  the  while  so-called  respectable,  and 
even  Christian  citizens,  are  breaking  the  laws  which  would 
enforce  a  constitutional  amendment.  We  may,  further¬ 
more,  question  those  who  have  lived  in  foreign  lands  as  to 
conditions  there.  Without  exception  their  comments  soon 
bring  them  to  the  statement  of  widespread  and  increasing 
immorality.  We  have  no  time  for  further  testimony, 
excepting  to  note  the  prevailing  pessimism  in  the  pro¬ 
nouncements  of  statesmen  and  publicists.  Sometimes  they 
speak  in  utter  hopelessness  concerning  the  downgrade  of 
humanity.  These  are  not  all  surface  judgments,  nor  are 
they  the  complaints  of  old  age.  We  must  recognize  what 
is  happening  in  our  world  today.  Conditions  which  exist 
in  publicity  methods  are  only  a  manifestation  of  what  is 
true  in  whole  of  life. 

Doubts  and  Denials  Gain  Headlines 

Let  us  return,  then,  to  publicity  facts,  especially  as  con¬ 
cerns  religious  publicity.  It  is  quite  clear  that  he  who 
deals  in  religious  denials  and  negatives  will  be  in  line  with 
all  that  receives  public  notice.  As  a  matter  of  fact  this  is 
exactly  what  takes  place.  The  church  body  which  wrangles 
over  long  cherished  convictions  or  debates  as  to  the  neces¬ 
sity  of  confessions  of  faith,  and  the  preacher  who  under¬ 
takes  in  wily  fashion  to  deny  the  Virgin  Birth  are  heralded 
far  and  wide.  The  things  which  deny,  which  are  negative, 
which  subtract,  which  are  destructive — these  have  pub¬ 
licity  value.  One  is  often  led  to  listen  for  the  many  voices 
which  are  unheralded  because  they  speak  positive  and 
constructive  things.  One  longs  for  positiveness,  even  if 
it  be  nothing  better  than  the  attitude  of  the  little  fellow 
who,  in  argument  with  a  playmate,  boldly  asserted,  “Tis 
so;  maw  said  so;  tis  so,  if  it  taint  so,  if  maw  said  so.” 
Modern  publicity  has  an  ear  only  for  the  fellows  who  are 
forever  saying,  “taint  so.”  We  need  to  stop  just  here  in 
order  to  realize,  in  accordance  with  our  consideration  of 
the  whole  world  situation,  that  the  language  of  mere  denial 
is  immoral  language.  Merely  to  deny  is  not  only  useless, 
but  is  also  immoral.  No  man  dare  claim  for  himself  the 
right  to  be  negative  and  destructive  of  sacred  beliefs,  and 
thus  to  subtract  from  other  human  hearts  unless  his  denial 
is  clearly  the  opposite  of  some  positive,  constructive  doc¬ 
trine  which  he  is  proclaiming  as  an  addition  to  human 
faith.  This  was  the  genius  of  the  great  Reformation.  It 


342 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 


did  deny  the  errors  of  Rome,  but  only  because  it  had  power¬ 
fully  constructive  truth  to  assert.  My  appeal  to  you  is  to 
turn  wholly  away  from  those  who  merely  deny.  They  are 
not  noteworthy,  they  are  immoral.  They  are  making  them¬ 
selves  a  part  of  the  world’s  moral  lapse  today. 

It  is,  of  course,  very  clear  for  our  study  of  our  future 
and  our  plans  for  publicity  that  we  have  no  place  in  this 
publicity  method.  Very  definitely,  the  Lutheran  Church 
stands  unanimously  for  the  positive  and  constructive.  Let 
us  never  denounce  sin  excepting  as  it  be  to  offer  salvation. 
Let  us  never  condemn  error  excepting  as  we  offer  the 
truth.  We  must  find  no  pleasure  in  mere  criticisms,  denun¬ 
ciations,  negatives,  and  denials.  We  shall  not  put  our 
message  across  in  that  way. 

Crooking  the  Straight  Lines  of  Truth 

We  turn  to  a  second  element  in  our  study  of  our  future 
and  in  the  fulfillment  of  our  purpose  to  impart  our  mes¬ 
sage  to  men.  We  shall  perhaps  see  the  second  element 
most  clearly  if  we  note  it  as  it  appears  in  the  world’s  life 
today  before  we  mark  it  in  present  publicity  methods.  It 
is  the  element  of  exaggeration.  We  are  face  to  face  today 
with  a  distortion  of  life  through  an  economic  exaggera¬ 
tion.  Let  it  be  noted  that  we  are  not  indulging  in  a  con¬ 
demnation  of  economics  as  though  they  were  not  important 
in  human  life.  The  contention  is  that  the  importance  of 
economics  has  been  seriously  exaggerated.  For  instance, 
we  have  before  us  as  the  first  instance  in  history  an  earthly 
government  founded  only  as  an  industrial  democracy. 
Reference  is,  of  course,  made  to  Russia,  whose  government 
is  stronger  than  is  commonly  recognized.  The  foundations 
thereof  have  been  laid  in  purely  economic  principles  to 
the  large  neglect  of  all  else  that  is  fundamental  for 
national  life.  This,  however,  is  not  all.  Russia  does  not 
stand  alone.  The  same  exaggeration  is  found  in  all  discus¬ 
sions  of  the  international  situation.  Wherever  conferences 
are  held  and  articles  are  written  the  undisputed  presump¬ 
tion  seems  to  be  that  if  economic  conditions  can  be  adjusted 
the  solution  of  international  problems  will  have  been 
reached.  We  must  not  neglect  those  conditions,  but  we 
must  not  permit  ourselves  the  dream  that  the  settling  of 
debts  and  reparations  and  credits  will  bring  an  inter¬ 
national  Utopia.  It  is  the  selfsame  exaggeration  which 
leads  modern  historians  to  write  history  from  the  stand¬ 
point  of  the  economic  interpretation.  This  tendency  in  the 
world’s  life  is,  of  course,  materialism  and  we  must  recog¬ 
nize  it  as  a  fact  of  the  present.  All  races  and  nations  are 


Appendix 


343 


under  its  sway.  Even  the  negro  is  being  adjured  by  his 
leaders  to  seek  racial  equality  through  the  attainment  of 
commercial,  of  material  equality.  Men  grow  weary  of  this 
economic  exaggeration,  and  manifest  that  weariness  in 
their  lack  of  joy  in  their  daily  work.  That  work  grows 
increasingly  monotonous,  inefficient,  and  rushed.  Never¬ 
theless,  they  follow  what  seems  to  them  to  be  “the  gleam” 
and  seek  their  soul’s  satisfaction  in  economic  adjustment. 
If  we  would  understand  our  world  today  we  must  place 
alongside  of  the  general  moral  lapse  the  fact  of  economic 
exaggeration. 

Featuring  Stunts  and  Personalities 

We  are  easily  prepared  to  appreciate  now  what  an  impor¬ 
tant  part  this  element  of  exaggeration  plays  in  prevalent 
publicity  methods.  It  is  not  merely  the  economic  exaggera¬ 
tion  of  the  world  which  is  portrayed  in  the  press,  although 
that  is  constantly  revealed  in  all  its  disproportion.  Nor 
am  I  referring  to  that  form  of  exaggeration  which  is  com¬ 
monly  designated  as  sensationalism,  that  jaded  appetite 
which  cannot  be  satisfied  unless  thrills  are  constantly 
offered,  that  demand  which  leads  the  moving  picture  actor 
to  undertake  ever  more  impossible  acrobatic  feats.  The 
exaggeration  most  to  be  marked  in  modern  publicity,  and 
especially  in  religious  publicity,  is  the  cartoonist’s  exag¬ 
geration.  He  singles  out  the  prominent  features  of  a 
public  man,  exaggerates  them,  and  makes  them  the  unmis¬ 
takable  mark  for  that  man.  We  remember,  for  instance, 
how  the  lamented  Roosevelt  was  known  especially  for  hi? 
teeth.  Thus  in  the  press  the  report  of  a  public  address 
will  be  featured  often  only  in  so  far  as  certain  sentences 
therein  provide  thrilling  headlines.  It  is  furthermore  a 
well-known  publicity  principle  to  present  personalities. 
The  man  who  stands  for  an  idea  is  “played  up,”  and  the 
idea  is  considered  from  the  exaggerated  point  of  view  of 
that  one  man. 

It  is  in  religious  publicity,  above  all,  that  this  feature 
becomes  most  manifest.  It  is  the  undue  emphasis  upon 
some  one  portion  of  Christian  truth  which  will  give  it 
publicity  value  today.  Once  more  it  is  a  case  of  exaggera¬ 
tion.  This  is  the  fact  as  concerns  so-called  “Fundamental¬ 
ism.”  Certain  elements  of  evangelical  truth  have  been 
separated  from  the  body  of  that  truth,  have  themselves 
been  given  disproportionate  form  and  meaning,  and  have 
been  made  the  tests  of  orthodox  Christianity  and  the  stand¬ 
ards  of  party  strife.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  heresies 
are  frequently  nothing  more  than  distortions  and  exag- 


344 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 


gerations  of  truth.  We  must  beware  lest  these  methods 
of  publicity  lead  us  astray  in  our  purpose  to  reach  men 
with  our  message. 

We  Are  None  of  These 

We  ought  to  stop  here  for  a  moment  to  consider  our 
Church’s  duty.  We  cannot  be  a  party  to  any  form  of 
exaggeration.  We  may  not  permit  emphasis  upon  per¬ 
sonalities.  The  truth  and  the  one  Personality  of  Jesus 
Christ  are  so  thoroughly  supreme  to  us  that  we  cannot  let 
the  prominence  of  any  man  or  men  cloud  in  the  least  their 
glory.  We  are  unwilling  to  permit  any  one  truth  of  the 
Gospel  to  be  singled  out  and  to  champion  it  in  such  a  way 
that  the  name  of  our  Church  is  known  peculiarly  for  that 
one  championship.  For  the  reasons  stated,  we  cannot 
freely  ally  ourselves  with  the  so-called  “Fundamentalists,” 
though  we  stand  stoutly  against  the  “Liberals,”  who  by 
their  teachings  would  dethrone  the  true  Christ.  We  can¬ 
not  in  the  least  uphold  the  secret  Ku  Klux  Klan,  even 
though  the  Lutheran  Church  stands  with  all  its  truth 
against  the  teachings  and  practices  of  Roman  Catholicism. 
We  do  not  even  wish  the  name  of  the  Lutheran  Church  as 
such  to  be  exalted.  Our  position  seems  constantly  to  be 
a  difficult  one  from  the  publicity  point  of  view.  Devotion 
to  our  principles  seems  almost  to  rob  us  of  widespread 
promulgation  for  them,  since  we  cannot  permit  dispropor¬ 
tionate  exaggeration.  We  ought,  however,  consider  the 
following  possibility  in  our  efforts  to  proclaim  our  mes¬ 
sage.  We  hold  the  entire  evangelical  Gospel  in  its  har¬ 
mony.  There  are,  however,  certain  truth  centers  to  that 
Gospel  as  we  know  it.  We  know  certain  themes  which 
prevail  throughout  the  symphony.  They  are  suns  around 
which  the  truth  planets  revolve.  They  are  hearts  which 
throb  their  life  throughout  the  body  of  truth.  Such  a 
center,  theme,  heart  is  our  doctrine  of  the  Real  Presence, 
the  real  presence  of  the  whole  Christ.  This  is  not  merely 
a  doctrine  of  the  Sacrament,  for  it  enters  into  our  entire 
knowledge  of  Christ,  it  has  its  meaning  in  our  Conception 
of  the  Word  of  God,  it  clarifies  any  proper  understanding 
of  the  Church.  Another  such  heart  truth  is  that  of  justi¬ 
fication  by  faith  alone.  One  more  is  our  doctrine  of  liberty, 
the  liberty  of  a  Christian  man.  There  are  others.  With¬ 
out  time  to  dwell  upon  them,  it  is  a  serious  question 
whether  in  a  time  when  men  will  listen  to  exaggerations 
we  may  and  ought  not  study  out  these  truth-centers  and 
present  them  not  as  exaggerations,  but  as  great  guiding 
stars  for  the  hearts  of  men. 


Appendix 


345 


Robbing  Realities  of  Thickness 

We  must  now  devote  a  little  time  to  a  third  publicity 
element,  with  which  like  the  first,  we  can  as  a  Church 
have  nothing  to  do.  Nevertheless  we  must  at  least  speak 
of  it  especially  because  it  is  coupled  with  a  third  world 
tendency.  We  might  perhaps  call  it  superficiality,  that  con¬ 
dition  which  leads  us  so  often  to  lay  aside  a  newspaper, 
magazine,  or  book  with  the  thought  that  we  have  gained 
nothing  from  it.  It  needs  a  better,  though  possibly  nar¬ 
rower,  designation  when  we  see  it  as  an  influence  upon 
the  world’s  life.  I  quote  it  from  one  of  our  European 
visitors,  of  whom  so  many  have  come,  all  avowing  no  desire 
to  instruct  us  as  a  nation,  but  proceeding  at  once  to  do  that 
very  thing.  Some  of  them  have  spoken  wisdom,  and  none 
more  so  than  Hillaire  Belloc,  who,  however,  received  small 
attention  because  he  did  not  observe  the  publicity  methods 
of  which  we  have  spoken.  In  a  discussion  of  world  condi¬ 
tions  he  called  attention  very  seriously  to  the  decay  of 
dogmatic  religion.  Let  us  note  that  he  did  not  say  there 
had  been  a  decay  of  religion,  but  of  dogmatic  religion,  of 
religion  expressed  in  definite  language  as  a  system  of 
belief  or  a  confession  of  faith.  We  all  know  well  the  disre¬ 
pute  under  which  the  word  dogmatic  now  exists.  Some  of 
that  disrepute  has  been  deserved.  We  all  acknowledge  also 
that  every  statement  of  our  faith  falls  far  short  of  express¬ 
ing  the  truth  our  heart  knows,  and  thus  falls  short  all  the 
more  of  the  ultimate  truth.  However,  we  likewise  know 
that  no  faith  ever  helped  our  life  which  we  could  not  utter 
in  hymns  as  a  matter  of  praise  or  in  prayer  as  a  subject 
of  thanksgiving  or  in  a  message  whereby  we  could  tell  it 
to  others.  It  cannot  be  good  for  the  world  when  a  decay 
of  dogmatic  religion  takes  place.  The  decay  will  breed, 
as  it  has  bred  in  these  days,  silly  superstitions,  when  men 
advocate  the  follies  of  spiritualism.  It  produces  antago¬ 
nism  to  all  religion  such  as  Russia  reveals  to  us  now,  and 
such  as  is  openly  proclaimed  even  in  our  own  land.  It 
leads  ministers  of  the  Gospel  to  discuss  for  publicity’s 
sake  the  things  which  belong  to  the  passing  show,  so  that 
dances  and  Coue  and  gorillas  become  the  themes  for  the 
worship  of  Christians.  We  turn  away  from  all  such  super¬ 
ficiality  in  the  publicity  of  today.  . 

Let  us  pause  for  a  minute  to  summarize,  before  we  pro¬ 
ceed  to  the  final,  wholly  constructive  thought  we  need.  We 
have  seen  elements  of  modern  publicity  which  include 
attention  to  what  is  destructive,  exaggerated,  and  super¬ 
ficial.  What  is  far  more  important,  we  have  gained  some¬ 
thing  beyond  a  glimpse  of  the  controlling  currents  in  the 


346 


Trinity,  Reading,  A.  D.  1923 


world’s  life — a  moral  lapse,  an  economic  exaggeration,  and 
a  decay  of  dogmatic  religion.  This  review  of  existing  ten¬ 
dencies  among  men  is  not  encouraging.  We  may  not  even 
say  that  these  are  past-war  manifestations.  The  war  may 
have  pressed  them  rapidly  forward,  may  have  ripened  them 
quickly,  but  such  moral  and  material  and  religious  condi¬ 
tions  must  have  known  a  longer  process.  They  cannot  be 
explained  without  an  acceptance  of  the  conviction  that 
something  has  been  wrong  in  the  training  of  the  recent 
generations  of  mankind.  Something  must  have  been  amiss 
with  the  processes  of  education. 

It  is  extremely  gratifying  to  appreciate,  therefore,  in 
the  last  place  that  our  world  is  gaining  today  an  educa¬ 
tional  reorganization.  There  is  a  healthy  educational 
unrest  which  portends  better  things.  The  war  gave  us  a 
rude  shock  as  to  the  ignorance  of  our  boys,  generally  and 
above  all,  religiously.  A  few  months  ago  the  Carnegie 
Foundation  contributed  a  second  shock  in  its  criticism  of 
our  public  school  education,  calling  attention  to  the  super¬ 
ficiality  of  the  graduates  because  of  the  introduction  of 
too  many  subjects  into  the  curriculum.  Those  who  know 
even  a  little  of  the  educational  world  appreciate  that  in 
all  lands  the  very  foundations  are  being  examined.  Even 
the  primary  definition  of  what  education  is  commands  new 
attention.  There  is  probably  no  other  word  as  important 
as  education  which  has  so  many  and  such  involved  defini¬ 
tions.  The  very  involved  character  of  the  definitions 
reveals  a  need  for  greater  examination.  Without  presum¬ 
ing  to  be  in  any  special  sense  an  educator  I  am  presuming 
to  suggest  a  definition  by  saying  that  education  is  the  culti¬ 
vation  of  ideals.  That  definition  opens  the  way  to  an 
appreciation  of  the  part  which  religion  must  play  in  educa¬ 
tion.  In  this  whole  connection  we  are  all  conscious  of  the 
worldwide  awakening  upon  the  subject  of  religious  educa¬ 
tion.  Even  the  churches  of  America  are  sensing  the  need. 

For  the  benefit  of  our  theme  this  evening  let  us  appre¬ 
ciate  that  modern  publicity  has  also  recognized  the  need 
of  its  own  reconstruction  and  acknowledges  anew' that  that 
deserves  publicity  which  is  truly  educative  of  the  people. 
The  cleanest  and  strongest  publicity  men  are  its  advocates. 
Indeed,  the  strongest  and  most  enduring  method  of  pub¬ 
licity  which  a  movement  or  an  organization  can  pursue  is 
that  of  patient,  persistent,  aggressive  education.  The 
spread  of  socialism  by  that  method  is  an  evidence  of  its 
success.  It  is  my  final,  strongly  constructive  thought  upon 
the  subject  of  publicity. 

Without  an  instant’s  delay  let  me  apply  the  fact  to  our 


Appendix 


347 


Church.  If  we  wish  to  put  our  message  across,  if  we  wish 
to  pursue  true  publicity,  if  we  wish  to  open  up  a  proper 
future  with  a  rightful  name  for  ourselves,  we  must 
educate.  I  know  the  publicity  value  of  preaching,  and  espe¬ 
cially  of  evangelistic  preaching.  That  does  proclaim  our 
message.  I  know  the  publicity  value  of  works  of  mercy 
in  making  clear  what  we  would  convey  to  men.  However, 
we  shall  not  accomplish  our  mission  unless  according  to 
Christ’s  command  we  teach.  That  teaching  must  take 
place  not  only  in  high  schools  and  colleges  and  seminaries. 
Our  congregations  must  have  schools,  must  be  schools. 
This  is  no  plea  for  parochial  schools.  As  commonly  under¬ 
stood,  I  do  not  believe  such  schools  to  be  desirable  for  our 
land.  It  is  a  plea  for  recognition  of  the  fact  that  all  we 
have  in  the  way  of  congregational  education  in  religion 
today  is  woefully  inadequate.  As  pastors  and  congrega¬ 
tions,  we  are  far  too  complacent.  The  very  best  efforts 
which  are  being  made  today  in  any  congregation  of  this 
Ministerium  or  of  our  whole  Church  are  not  sufficient. 
Let  me  be  practical.  Educational  material  is  turned  into 
our  congregations  from  many  sources — from  the  pastor  for 
his  catechetical  classes,  from  the  Parish  and  Church  School 
Board,  for  the  Sunday  school  and  other  classes,  from  the 
Brotherhood,  the  Women’s  Missionary  Society,  the  Luther 
League,  from  the  various  boards  and  committees  of  the 
Church.  There  is,  however,  not  a  single  congregation 
anywhere,  I  believe,  in  which  all  this  material  is  organized 
into  a  well-rounded  curriculum  which  will  provide  a  well- 
rounded  religious  education  for  the  entire  congregation. 
The  material  is  likewise  utterly  unrelated  and  entirely 
insufficient.  We  have  not  even  planned  a  fully  related 
educational  curriculum  for  the  people,  young  and  old,  of 
a  congregation.  The  day  must  come  when  on  the  sign 
boards  outside  our  churches  we  shall  see  advertised  not 
merely  “Hours  of  Worship,”  but  also  “Hours  of  Study.” 
All  of  our  people  must  be  faithful  students. 

What  we  need  today  is  not  to  follow  some  of  the  catch¬ 
penny  devices  of  modern  publicity,  though  we  must  use  all 
of  the  good  therein.  As  Christians  we  need  what  is  meant 
by  that  beautiful,  strong  word — poise.  If  I  may  add  an 
adjective  to  it,  which  does  not  contradict  it,  we  need 
aggressive  poise. 


A  DOORWAY  OF  TRINITY  CHURCH 


STEEPLE  OF  TRINITY  CHURCH 
READING,  PA. 


J  photomount 

1  PAMPHLET  BINDER 

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[  «AYLORD  BROS.  In* 
i  Sy«Mu>*,  N.  Y. 

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